NEWS

Cole Palmer could miss up to 10 Chelsea games with a groin injury after Enzo Maresca confirmed the worst-case scenario.

Cole Palmer is set for six more weeks out injured

Enzo Maresca has revealed that Cole Palmer will not return until after the November international break.

“I was wrong [about Palmer]. Unfortunately he needs to be out for six more weeks,” he said on Friday. “We try to protect Cole as much as we can. The most important thing is when he comes back, he is fully fit.

“The medical staff are not magicians. We hope six weeks are enough. We need to see it step by step. For sure, he’s going to be okay.

The Blues boss went on to deliver more updates on the rest of his squad ahead of the Premier League clash at Nottingham Forest.

Levi [Colwill] and Liam [Delap] are still out,” he added. “Unfortunately Benoit [Badiashile] will be out until December, a muscle problem. We are going to wait for him. Moi [Caicedo], Enzo [Fernandez] and Pedro [Neto] did not take part in the session yesterday. We will see if they can train today. Reece is okay, he is fully fit.

All three stars spent the majority of the international break at Cobham, though Fernandez was initially called up to the Argentina squad before returning earlier than expected.

Caicedo was not called up to the Ecuador squad though Joao Pedro seems fine after being omitted from Brazil duty.

Colwill and Delap were expected absentees but losing Badiashile is a blow especially after his performance against Liverpool nearly two weeks ago. James being fit is a positive especially following his withdrawal from the England squad.

With Palmer unavailable for the foreseeable, Chelsea could face a real challenge when it comes to chance creation in attack especially as Neto and Fernandez are doubts.

First of all, to replace Cole, it’s difficult,” Maresca admitted on how they could replace him. “Cole is a very important player for us, one of the best in the league.

“The ones we have, in Cole’s position against Liverpool was Malo Gusto. The game vs Benfica was Facundo. It depends on the game plan we have. We don’t have another player like Cole. Cole is unique.”

Following Maresca’s huge update ahead of the trip to the City Ground, Palmer will miss games against Ajax, Sunderland, Wolves (x2), Tottenham, Qarabag, Burnley, Barcelona and Arsenal. Beyond that, he could remain out depending on his recovery goes.

Chelsea will be keen for him to be back and hopefully fully fit for the busy Christmas schedule, but not at the risk of him suffering a setback.

Four Chelsea games Cole Palmer is set to miss as Enzo Maresca learns latest injury blow

The latest on the fitness of Cole Palmer with the Chelsea attacker only making four appearances in all competitions this season because of a persistent groin injury.

Cole Palmer is expected to remain on the sidelines until November, football.london understands, with Chelsea discovering the extent of his persistent groin injury.

The 23-year-old has only managed four appearances in all competitions in what has been an injury-riddled start to the season. Palmer, who played a starring role in the Blues’ Club World Cup triumph in the United States over the summer, has missed Chelsea’s last four matches after limping off in the defeat at Manchester United.

The England international is now set to miss Premier League matches against Nottingham Forest and Sunderland, as well as the Champions League fixture at home to Ajax and the trip to Wolves in the Carabao Cup fourth round. Multiple sources have told football.london that Palmer’s problem is set to keep him out for weeks rather than months.

Enzo Maresca went into a bit of detail to football.london last month when asked about Palmer’s injury and the severity of the problem. The Chelsea head coach revealed the problem was complicated and that it could unpredictably get worse on one day and feel a lot better the next.

“We need to protect Cole, for sure, 100%,” Maresca said last month. “Not only Cole in my personal view, because as I said now, because of the Club World Cup or because we never stop. We need to manage and protect different players. For sure Cole is one of them. Another one is Moi [Caicedo].

“Joao Pedro also, since he joined us, he’s playing every game. The solution with Cole, I don’t know. Now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him. But it’s also a kind of injury that is not like black and white.

“It’s not an injury that someday you can be better. It’s not that you are playing and tomorrow you disappear. Sometimes you can be better, sometimes you can be worse. That is why we need to manage day by day.”