Palmer ruled out of Fulham clash as Chelsea face injury concerns

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer will miss Saturday’s Premier League clash with Fulham due to the injury that forced him out of last week’s victory over West Ham United.

The 23-year-old England international was initially named in Chelsea’s starting XI for the London Stadium encounter but withdrew during the warm-up, watching from the sidelines as the Blues secured an emphatic 5-1 away victory.

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Palmer’s absence was further highlighted when he was omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad, announced earlier this week.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference at Cobham, Maresca confirmed that Palmer will join Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile on the sidelines for tomorrow’s west London derby.

“Cole is out,” Maresca told journalists. “Also, Benoit is out, and Romeo is out. The rest are all okay.”

The Italian head coach indicated that Palmer’s recovery remains uncertain, requiring daily assessment, while Lavia and Badiashile are unlikely to return until after the international break.

“Cole we need to see day by day, and the other two I don’t think are going to be back after the international break. But they are going to be closer,” Maresca explained.

Finding Alternative Solutions

Despite acknowledging Palmer’s importance to the team, Maresca expressed confidence in his squad’s ability to adapt, pointing to last week’s performance against West Ham as evidence.

“For sure, 100 per cent, we are a much better team with Cole, no doubt,” the manager said. “But when Cole is not in the game, we need to find different solutions. Last week we found different solutions, and hopefully tomorrow we can again find different solutions.”

Estevao Willian stepped into Palmer’s role against West Ham, joining an attack that featured both Joao Pedro and Liam Delap for the first time.

Maresca outlined his careful approach to managing long-term injury recoveries, using Wesley Fofana’s recent return as a template for Lavia and Badiashile.

“With Romeo and Benoit, it’s normal after a long time out that they will need time and sessions,” he said. “It’s the same with what we are doing with Wes. Wes is back and the other day he played some minutes. Hopefully, we can have more minutes and get him to the right condition.”

The manager expressed particular optimism about Lavia’s potential contribution once fully fit: “Romeo, I think two seasons ago, he didn’t start any games. Last year he played some games, this season the target is to give him more games. Hopefully, the moment he is back, he can be fit for a long time and play more minutes and games, because he is a player we really trust.”

Chelsea will look to maintain their strong start to the season when they host Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.