Cole Palmer is being ‘very well looked after’ as Chelsea continue to manage an existing injury issue with their star man.
Palmer, 23, has missed Chelsea’s last two games having not featured since the opening weekend of the Premier League season against Crystal Palace.
The England international was forced to pull out of the starting XI shortly before kick-off ahead of the clash with West Ham United at the London Stadium in August.
He was left out of the squad again last time out against Fulham before the international break with Enzo Maresca explaining the club were assessing a groin issue ‘day by day’ when he last spoke to the media.
Palmer was also left out of the England squad for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia, remaining in west London.
Some eagle-eyed Chelsea fans were convinced they spotted their talisman back in training this week with Maresca to provide a fresh update when he speaks to the press on Friday.
Chelsea have lost three players to injury with Liam Delap ruled out until November with a hamstring injury while Dario Essugo will miss the rest of 2025 after undergoing thigh surgery. Levi Colwill meanwhile is unlikely to play again this season after an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
But Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics working with the Premier League, has eased concerns over Palmer’s fitness.
‘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.’
Palmer 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 that began with Europa Conference League play-offs and ended with Club World Cup glory – the latter coming just 34 days before the start of the new season.
Manchester City’s early exit from the Club World Cup saw Pep Guardiola share his grave fears over the repercussions the tournament will have on his players this season.
‘Maybe in November, December or January it will be a disaster, we are exhausted and the World Cup has destroyed us,’ Guardiola said.
Early injury problems will fuel suggestions Maresca’s side are feeling the effects of last season’s draining campaign.
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But talk of a prolonged hangover is wide of the mark, according to Smith.
”Everyone will be suggesting things like that. But then why are people like Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella, who played more games, not laid up injured?’ Smith said.
‘The easy thing to do is say this is because of the Club World Cup or fixture congestion in general. But is a complex matter. It isn’t about how much they are playing, it is about how much they are training, how often they are training, the intensity of their training and their recovery.
‘It is a multi-faceted problem. So to try and simplify it a hangover form the Club World Cup is probably a little bit ignorant.’
