Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said that Cole Palmer will not play in the Blues’ Carabao Cup quarter-final against Cardiff City on Tuesday night. The England international, who scored in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday, is being carefully watched as he recovers from a groin injury.
Palmer started at Stamford Bridge for the first time in almost four months on the weekend. He scored the first goal in the 21st minute with a perfect shot and was then taken off the field just before the hour mark.
The 24-year-old has had a hard season, missing 15 games earlier in the season because of a groin issue that first showed up in September. Even though he scored a goal, the former Manchester City player still can’t play twice in three days because Chelsea’s medical staff is keeping a close eye on his health.
Before the trip to South Wales, Maresca talked directly about Palmer’s absence:
“I already said many times in all the press conferences that the target for the ones that they need to be protected is the target. Cole in this moment is one of the players that he deserves to be protected, and in this moment he’s not available to play two games in three days.”
The Italian’s careful approach shows that Palmer’s injury is still going on. After Saturday’s game, the playmaker himself said he is still not close to 100 percent fit and sharp. Palmer’s absence shouldn’t hurt Chelsea’s chances of reaching the semi-finals, as they only need to get past League One leaders Cardiff City to do so.
Chelsea planning to rotate squad as they deal with lots of games
Maresca has said that he will make a lot of changes to his starting XI for the cup tie, as Chelsea have played every midweek and weekend since September. The Blues manager stressed the importance of taking care of his team during the busy holiday season, especially since they have a Premier League game against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Saturday.
The Chelsea manager went into more detail about his plans for rotation:
“We’re going to make some changes. We’ll see how many, but for sure we have players that in the last 12, 13 days, they’ve played five games. So they need to probably recover energy.”
The Blues are currently in fourth place in the Premier League with 28 points, eight behind leaders Arsenal. Their last game before Christmas, against Newcastle, is very important for their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
Maresca’s squad depth, which has been the envy of clubs all over the world, will be put to the test as he tries to balance his league priorities with his cup ambitions during the busy December schedule.