Chelsea were dealt a hammer blow moments before their match against West Ham when Cole Palmer was withdrawn from the squad.
The Blues face London rivals West Ham on Friday night in an important fixture as both teams look for their first Premier League win of the new season.
As expected, Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer, 23, was named in the original starting line-up against the Hammers.
Even though the attacking midfielder was involved in the team’s warm-up at the London Stadium, he went down the tunnel early. Afterwards, the Blues confirmed that he was withdrawn from the matchday squad and replaced by Estevao Willian for his first Premier League start.
Palmer was quiet against Crystal Palace in the 0-0 draw last week during their opening fixture of the 2025/26 campaign. Therefore, it must be extremely frustrating for the playmaker that he’s watching from the stands the West Ham showdown.
Cole Palmer watches from the dugout West Ham against Chelsea in the Premier League.
Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Why Cole Palmer was ruled out against West Ham
Sky reporter David Craig, who claimed he spoke with Enzo Maresca moments before Chelsea against West Ham, shared what the Blues head coach told him about Palmer’s late withdrawal.
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He said via Sky Sports’ Main Event channel (8:05pm, 22 August): “He said Cole Palmer felt something. He wouldn’t be drawn on exactly what he felt. They’ve removed him from the match as a precaution. He definitely ruled out any discussion about illness. He said he felt something. It’s precautionary. They didn’t want to risk it.”
Fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that Palmer’s injury scare isn’t anything too serious.
After the West Ham match, the Blues host Fulham on 30 August before the first international break of the season.
Darren Bent massively rates Palmer, recently naming him as the best attacking midfielder in the Premier League. However, it’s been a really frustrating start to the new term, which could be made worse depending on the severity of his potential injury.
He’s been very fortunate to avoid any serious injuries during his first two years in West London, so let’s wait and see in the coming days.
Chelsea star Cole Palmer leaves the pitch during the warm up ahead of the Premier League match against West Ham.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Joao Pedro the natural cover for Cole Palmer
If Palmer is unavailable, Chelsea now have an extremely useful replacement in the squad with summer signing Joao Pedro.
The brilliant thing about Pedro, 23, is that he can play multiple attacking positions. In particular, he can slot into the No.10 central role, which is exactly what he’s done against West Ham.
Maresca claimed Pedro can cover five different positions, and it’s another tick against his name.
In the first-half against West Ham, the Brazilian scored one and assisted another to put the visitors into a 3-1 lead. His Blues career has been pretty faultless to date.