Cole Palmer injury latest as groin problem keeps Chelsea star out of training

Cole Palmer missed training on Tuesday due to the groin issue which saw him miss Chelsea’s win over West Ham last week.

The England international felt discomfort in his groin during the warm-up for the game in east London on Friday night.

He was not risked and sat out of the 5-1 romp over the Hammers as the Blues shone without one of their star performers.

Palmer has been dealing with the minor groin issue since the Club World Cup and while it is not considered serious it is clearly hampering him.

Sky Sports report on Tuesday afternoon that the 23-year-old was not with the rest of the Chelsea first team in training.

While not good news for Blues fans, the report stated that there is still hope he will be available for Saturday’s meeting with Fulham at Stamford Bridge.

It is believed Chelsea are treating the problem with caution and giving Palmer every chance of being available for the west London derby.

It may be that Enzo Maresca opts not to risk Palmer against Fulham and give him the international break to fully recover, with Chelsea’s next game not until Saturday September 13 at Brentford.

Maresca has not offered an update since Friday when he explained why Palmer was pulled out of the win over West Ham late in the day.

‘Cole, in the last four or five days, he was not 100 per cent,’ the Chelsea boss told reporters. ‘Today, he tried in the warm-up but he felt something so we preferred to not take any risks.

‘We will see in the next hours if it’s something important or not.’

The Italian added: ‘It was already in the Palace game that he was not 100 per cent. But he’s trying to make a big effort for the club, for the team, for the fans because he’s really keen about the team.

‘Tonight, again, he tried again but it was not very good.’

Palmer was quiet in the goalless draw with Crystal Palace on the opening weekend of the season, as were Chelsea in general, but were much more impressive in seeing off West Ham.

Maresca has no shortage of options in forward areas, starting Palmer, Pedro Neto and Jamie Gittens behind Joao Pedro against the Eagles.

He then played Estevao and Liam Delap against West Ham alongside Neto and Pedro.

Andrey Santos, who came off the bench in both games, is another option while Chelsea remain in talks over deals for Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho before the transfer window closes on Monday.