Maresca is having to be careful with one playerplaceholder image
Maresca is having to be careful with one player | Getty Images
Enzo Maresca has confirmed one Chelsea player will be absent on Tuesday night.
Enzo Maresca has confirmed that one of his key players will be absent for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup clash with League One leaders Cardiff City. Chelsea returned to winning ways on Saturday after a four-game winless run.
Palmer’s home return and goal was certainly a source of pleasure for Chelsea fans, with the England international having been struggling with a groin injury for much of the season. The attacking midfielder has been in and out, with Chelsea managing his minutes carefully to make sure he doesn’t suffer any kind of serious setback.
And even after Palmer’s hugely encouraging performance against Everton, that process will need to continue this week, with Palmer set to miss the game against Cardiff. Asked if Palmer can play twice in a week at this stage, Maresca said: “In this moment he can't play.” Asked more specifically if he will be involved on Tuesday, Maresca clarified: “Probably not."
The game against Cardiff is a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash, with a spot in the final four on the line. Cardiff are enjoying a superb season in League One, with promotion back to the Championship looking very much on the cards as they continue to thrive under Brian Barry-Murphy’s attacking brand of football. The Irish boss is a former Manchester City coach.
The Bluebirds are top of League One and four points clear after a run of five straight league wins, and they have scored three or more in four of those games, including a stoppage time 4-3 win over Doncaster Rovers on Saturday. The Welsh side have already beaten Burnley and Wrexham on their way to this stage of the competition, and while Chelsea will still be confident of progressing, they will have to tread carefully in South Wales.
Maresca on Palmer’s big home return
Aside from the concerns over Palmer’s game time, Maresca spoke of his delight for Chelsea’s win over Everton and Palmer’s influence on the game. He said: “I said many times that with Cole we are a better team. I really praise the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap. And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are doing fantastic.
“Today was five games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our best player but we play almost all season without our best player. We play five games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so happy for the players and it's something that I would like that from outside people can appreciate that because the effort from the players is fantastic.”
Continue Reading