Cole-Palmer chelsea
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says the club have been handed a triple injury boost, even though there’s been another frustrating setback for Cole Palmer.
The expectation was that Palmer was finally close to getting back on the pitch after spending the past two months out with a groin problem. Instead, Maresca explained on Friday that the England midfielder has picked up a new issue — a fractured toe — after an accident at home.
Palmer had been ‘very close’ to returning, but he stubbed the little toe on his left foot against a door on Wednesday, which left him with a break and ruled him out once again.
As a result, Maresca confirmed he will miss Chelsea’s Saturday trip to Lancashire to face Burnley at Turf Moor but may return against Barcelona and Arsenal.
When asked about Palmer, the Chelsea boss told reporters at his pre-Burnley press conference on Friday.
‘He is probably not available, for tomorrow, for sure, Barcelona, for sure, Arsenal, for sure. Unfortunately, he had an accident at home with his toe. But it’s nothing important. For sure he is not back next week.’
Although Palmer’s setback stole most of the attention in Maresca’s pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Burnley, the Chelsea head coach did at least have some positive news to share.
Boost
Three players who had been considered doubtful are now in contention, with Benoît Badiashile, Enzo Fernández, and Pedro Neto all cleared to make the squad.
However, he added that he hadn’t yet seen Moisés Caicedo, who only flew back to England on Thursday night after international duty with Ecuador.
‘Moi [Caicedo] came back last night, I didn’t see him yet.
‘But he’s good. Benoit is back. He can be available for tomorrow; that’s great news for us.
‘And then Enzo and Pedro, they used the international break to recover a little bit of energy, also to recover from the injury, the problems they had, and they are both available for tomorrow.’
Maresca’s side now have a chance to close the gap to just three points behind leaders Arsenal—but only if Tottenham do them a favour in Sunday’s North London derby. At the same time, they’ll hope to gain maximum points to extend their unbeaten run against the Clarets to 12 games.