Alvaro Morata set for Chelsea debut as Pedro suffers 'multiple fractures' in Arsenal win

Alvaro Morata could make his Chelsea debut on Tuesday (25 July) in an International Champions Cup clash with Bayern Munich, while fellow Spaniard Pedro is expected to return to action in just 10 days despite suffering multiple face fractures during a nasty collision with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina at the weekend.

After seeing hopes of a move to Manchester United scuppered, striker Morata followed Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko as the reigning Premier League champions' fourth signing of the summer last week, after joining from Real Madrid in a club-record deal that the BBC reported to be worth an initial £60m ($78.1m).

While the transfer came too late for the player to feature in an encouraging 3-0 victory over their London rivals at Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium on Saturday, Antonio Conte is mulling over the possibility of handing him a bit-part role tomorrow as Chelsea kick off the two-match Singapore leg of their Far East tour.

"My plan is to give him the possibility to play part of the game, but not from the start because he only arrived yesterday and started to work with us," the manager said in a press conference held on Monday.

"Morata is a young player who has a lot of experience in his career because he played with two big teams in Real Madrid and Juventus. He has also played a lot of games in the Champions League and won it last season. He can have a big impact in the Premier League. It's different if you compare it to leagues in other countries because it's very tough and physically it's strong, but Morata is ready to have a big impact."

Pedro fractures

Conte also confirmed that Pedro's injury was worse than first feared, but does not seem likely to keep him sidelined for the start of the new season as the 29-year-old prepares to don a protective mask for the second time in a year. He also wore one in May 2016 after breaking his nose in a household incident.

"The situation was more serious than I thought because I hoped it would only be concussion and instead he had multiple fractures," Conte added. "With a mask, and in around 10 days, he can come back to work with us."

Pedro, who will miss matches against Bayern and Inter Milan and could also be a doubt for the Community Shield on 6 August, spent a night in hospital following that win over Arsenal and was subsequently scheduled to return to London for further treatment. Conte replied "absolutely not" when asked if he believed Ospina to be at fault for the incident.

"I was a player and I know these type of accidents can happen," he said. "Ospina tried to take the ball."

When discussing Kenedy, who drew strong criticism and apologised after publishing two controversial social media posts that caused offence in China, Conte said: "He understands his mistake and he's sorry."