Chelsea fans believe they may have spotted Cole Palmer back in training after his recent injury issues.
Palmer has missed Chelsea’s last two games with a groin problem, pulling out of the starting XI shortly before kick-off away to West Ham before missing out completely last time out against Fulham.
The former Manchester City star is nursing a groin problem that Enzo Maresca said the club were assessing ‘day by day’ when he last spoke to the media ahead of the 2-0 win over Fulham.
Palmer was left out of the England squad for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia, remaining in west London.
With most of the squad away on international duty, new signing Alejandro Garnacho was among the group at Cobham this week with Chelsea releasing pictures from the training ground on Monday and Tuesday.
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Palmer did not appear to be present but eagle-eyed Chelsea fans believe they have spotted their talisman lurking in the background.
Palmer appears to be sat on the dressing room benches putting his boots on behind Enzo Fernandez in one shot, sat next to Garnacho in another.
Some Blues fans are also convinced Palmer is among a group of five players running through a drill, picking him out behind new signing Facundo Buonanotte.
Chelsea supporters will be eager for some more definitive confirmation ahead of their trip to Brentford on Saturday evening with Maresca to speak to the press on Friday.
Palmer played on the opening day of the season against Crystal Palace, a game which came just 34 days after Chelsea lifted the Club World Cup in New Jersey.
He was one of four Blues players to rack up more than 4,000 minutes of playing time alongside Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez last season as part of a draining campaign.
While Palmer’s groin issue appears to be something Chelsea are carefully managing, Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics working with the Premier League, does not believe it’s the sign of Club World Cup ‘hangover’ kicking in.
‘It is an ongoing thing with Palmer they appear to be managing,’ Smith told Metro. ‘The fact he was able to go out and warm up [before the West Ham game] and felt it there, I think what you are seeing there is a very conservative and mature approach to managing a very valuable asset.
‘We know all the staff at Chelsea are absolutely world class, so what you are seeing there is the strength in their beliefs and processes come to a fore. I wouldn’t be too concerned, I imagine he is being very well looked after.’
