Palmer, Adarabioyo & Essugo: Latest Chelsea injury news and expected return datesplaceholder image
Palmer, Adarabioyo & Essugo: Latest Chelsea injury news and expected return dates | Getty Images
The latest Chelsea injury news and return dates - with updates on Cole Palmer’s availability for games against Napoli and West Ham.
Chelsea will put their recent unbeaten run to the test twice this week, with a Champions League tie against Napoli swiftly followed by a Premier League game against a newly-resurgent West Ham – but injuries will make Liam Rosenior’s preparations more challenging once more.
The biggest question is whether Cole Palmer, who has endured an injury-ravaged season so far, will be fit enough to play in either match after he was absent from the squad for the comfortable 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday – but Palmer is just one of seven players who are either out or doubts for this week’s matches.
With an important game in Naples fast approaching, we’ve collected all of the latest Chelsea injury news and expected return dates for their absent players below.
Will Cole Palmer be fit to face Napoli or West Ham?
Prior to the game against Crystal Palace, most sources had suggested that Cole Palmer was likely to play despite a thigh injury – but in the end, the 23-year-old, who has completed a full 90 minutes just four times since the summer, was absent from the matchday squad once more.
Palmer had taken part in full training prior to Sunday’s game at Selhurst Park, according to The Evening Standard, but was ultimately left out with Rosenior later telling the press that the attacking midfielder was “not quite right” ahead of the match.
“He’s got a little niggle and it is fine, [but] he is not quite 100 per cent,” Rosenior said. “He’s got a chance for [Napoli on] Wednesday. Hopefully, he is back for that.”
Last week, Rosenior had moved to play down concerns about Palmer’s fitness, telling the press that the problem was “really, really minor” but ultimately he was short of full match fitness for the weekend. He is expected to be back in the squad before the end of the week, but his status for the Napoli game – which Chelsea need to win in order to guarantee a place in the last 16 of the Champions League – remains uncertain.
Dário Essugo suffers setback – one of six Chelsea injuries
Elsewhere, there was bad news for young Portuguese midfielder Dário Essugo, who had recently returned to training following a thigh injury which he sustained while on Under-21 duty with his country during the autumn.
Rosenior told the press that Essugo has “slipped during training” and had suffered a “really unfortunate injury” as a result – the precise nature of the problem has not been disclosed, but Chelsea’s head coach added that Essugo would be absent for “over a month,” suggesting than early March is the most optimistic target for his return.
Other recent injury victims include centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, who will for two to three weeks with a hamstring issue, and reserve goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen, who missed the Palace game with an undisclosed issue but who could return for the Napoli match, according to Rosenior.
Long-term absentees include Roméo Lavia (thigh), who is close to returning to training and may target a comeback towards the end of February, and Levi Colwill (ACL), who is expected to miss the rest of the campaign. Mykhaylo Mudryk remains suspended after being charged with a doping offence.
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