Chelsea’s Cole Palmer finds himself sidelined once again after a bizarre accident resulted in a fractured toe. The unfortunate incident occurred when Palmer stubbed his toe on a door, ruling him out of crucial clashes against Burnley, Barcelona, and Arsenal.
The Blues have been coping without Palmer since late September, when he featured for 21 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United. Set for a return to training following a two-month absence due to a groin injury, the England international now faces an additional setback with a new injury.
In his pre-match press conference, Maresca remarked on Friday, “He was very close. He was back with us almost with the groin, which is very good news, but he has this small problem.”
When questioned on the extent of Palmer’s absence, Maresca confirmed, “He is probably not available for Saturday, Barcelona or Arsenal for sure. Unfortunately, he had an accident at home where he hit his toe. It is nothing important, but he won’t be back in the next week.”
Maresca further addressed coping without Palmer: “I think his teammates are better players with Cole playing. I feel much better when Cole is on the pitch, and we all want Cole on the pitch. At the same time, when Cole is not on the pitch, we need to find a solution. The team is doing very well but we are better with Cole. He was almost back with us.”
Discussing other squad matters, Maresca added: “Moi [Caicedo] came back last night, I will see him soon. He is good. Benoit [Badiashile] can be available for tomorrow. Enzo [Fernandez] and Pedro [Neto] used the break to recover their energy and their injuries. They are both available for tomorrow.”
Maresca also praised defender Malo Gusto’s recent form, explaining, “We said many times that Malo is a main player in the way we want to play. He can play in different positions. We like players that we can be dynamic with. Malo, personally, I consider him a main player for us.”
Looking ahead to their next fixture against Burnley following their final pre-break match against Wolves, Maresca emphasised the need for adaptability: “It will be a different game. Tomorrow, we need to use a different strategy and weapons. It will be a tough game after the international break, 12:30, away, it’s always a difficult game.”