Xabi Alonso believes Cole Palmer has moved beyond the injury problems that disrupted his 2025/26 season as Chelsea prepare to face Fulham on Monday night.
Palmer endured spells on the sidelines last term and struggled to maintain his rhythm, but he has completed a full pre-season under Alonso ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League opener.
The Blues head coach has now revealed that Palmer has been working specifically on preventing a repeat of those problems since returning to Cobham.
Xabi Alonso believes Cole Palmer has turned a corner in relation to his injury battles last season. #CFC manager tips the "world-class" Palmer for a much-improved 2026/27 season 🔵 https://t.co/6gcDZfTK9z
— Bobby Vincent (@BobbyVincentFL) August 22, 2026
Xabi Alonso confident over Cole Palmer fitness
Alonso was directly asked whether Palmer’s previous injury problems were now behind him and responded positively.
The Chelsea boss explained that difficult periods can help players understand their bodies better, with Palmer now putting significant work into preventing the symptoms that affected him last season.
Chelsea’s official account of Alonso’s Palmer update says the forward has been working on that prevention programme since the first day of pre-season.
That represents an encouraging development after concerns briefly returned earlier this month.
ReadChelsea reported that Palmer missed the Juventus friendly after suffering a contact injury, but Alonso made clear at the time that the issue was not a recurrence of his previous groin problem.
Palmer subsequently returned and has continued building towards Monday’s trip to Craven Cottage.
Cole Palmer remains central to Alonso’s Chelsea plans
Alonso’s confidence extends beyond Palmer’s fitness.
The Spaniard described Chelsea’s No.10 as a player capable of reaching a “world-class” level when he is healthy and enjoying his football.
It follows Alonso’s earlier explanation of how he intends to unlock Palmer in Chelsea’s new-look attack.
Morgan Rogers and João Pedro have increasingly looked like Palmer’s likely attacking partners, giving Alonso several ways to build around his primary creator.
Palmer is expected to start at Fulham and features in ReadChelsea’s predicted Chelsea XI for the Premier League opener.
After an interrupted 2025/26 campaign, a full pre-season and Alonso’s latest fitness update offer Chelsea reason to expect considerably more consistency from Palmer this time around.
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