Cole-Palmer chelsea
Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer is ‘available’ to feature for Chelsea in the 212th London Derby meeting against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Palmer has been absent for the Blues since September 20 because of an ongoing groin problem. His comeback was pushed back further when he mistakenly hit the little toe on his left foot against a door at home last Wednesday, which kept him out of the Burnley and Barcelona fixtures and initially raised doubts over his participation against Mikel Arteta’s team.
Despite that setback, Chelsea have impressively secured 12 victories from 15 matches without Palmer this season and head into Sunday’s clash against Arsenal sitting in second place, keen to reduce the gap with the table toppers to three points.
Palmer, who has scored two goals in four Chelsea appearances across all competitions this season, has been training this week with a specially modified boot which is adapted to his fractured toe.
However, speaking at his pre-match press conference at Cobham on Friday, Maresca confirmed that the England international is back in contention to face Arsenal.
He said, ‘He is available for both [playing and starting].
‘His teammates are happy, we are happy, and the most important thing is that Cole is happy.’
Boost
Although Maresca acknowledged the excitement ahead of Palmer’s return, he hinted that he would err on the side of caution regarding his minutes.
He said, ‘He is, as you said, probably our best player. We are happy that he is back. Now we need to give him time to be 100% fit.
‘He has done fantastic in the past, and no doubt he is going to do very well for this club in the future.’
Maresca received another boost on Friday after confirming that summer arrival Dario Essugo joined first-team training for the first time since recovering from his thigh problem.
The Portuguese midfielder has been sidelined since undergoing an operation in September, and the Chelsea manager explained that he had returned to work on the pitch.
Chelsea head into Sunday’s clash with Arsenal knowing that three consecutive away fixtures follow, each separated by only three days. For that reason, managing Palmer’s involvement in the trips to Leeds United, Bournemouth and Atalanta appears sensible.