Chelsea captain Reece James is happy that his teammate Cole Palmer is back. Palmer finally made his return to the field during the Blues’ recent trip to Elland Road.
The forward came off the bench against Leeds United, marking his first competitive game since September. This ended a frustrating time on the sidelines for the club’s star player.
Head coach Enzo Maresca will be happy to have two of his most important players back. James himself just came back to regular first-team action after dealing with his own fitness issues.
The team’s loss to Leeds in the middle of the week was a setback for everyone, but Palmer’s return gives Chelsea a big boost in creative options as they get ready for a busy holiday schedule. James talked about his teammate’s return and how Palmer makes the locker room better both personally and professionally:
“He’s an amazing player and an amazing person as well. He’s quite reserved but he has a funny side to him as well. He’s had a decent period [of time] sidelined now and we’re happy he’s back with us.”
The Chelsea captain said that Palmer is a unique threat to other teams’ defenses, which the team has missed this fall while he was away:
“I think he has the ability just to score two goals from nothing. There are very few players who have the ability just to make something out of nothing and he has that.”
Cole Palmer has struggled with injuries this season
Cole Palmer’s 2025/26 season has been all over the place, and he hasn’t been able to play for most of the first half. He started having problems in September, when a groin injury kept him from playing, which messed up his start to the season just as he was gaining momentum.
His recovery seemed to be going well until a strange setback in November pushed back his return even more. Maresca said that the forward broke his toe in a strange accident at home when he hit it on a door.
This made him spend more time in the treatment room just as he was getting close to being fully fit. His brief appearance at Elland Road marks the end of a tough three-month period. The club now hopes to carefully manage his playing time so that he can stay available for the rest of the season.