Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed that star midfielder Cole Palmer missed their 5-1 win at West Ham due to a discomfort.
Palmer was in the matchday squad and was even named in the starting eleven for Chelsea’s game against West Ham at the London Stadium.
However, just a few minutes before kick-off, he was ruled out for the fixture, with coach Maresca changing the way he set up his team.
Chelsea still ran out with a 5-1 victory despite an early scare after Lucas Paqueta gave West Ham an early lead. It looked like Graham Potter, the former Chelsea boss now in charge at West Ham, was going to upset his former employers.
Nonetheless, the Blues stepped up, as goals from Trevoh Chalobah, Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez, and Moises Caicedo sealed the win.
After the game, coach Maresca spoke about Palmer. He revealed that the England international had been feeling some discomfort in his groin area for almost a week. So they decided to sideline him for the game to prevent a serious injury.
“Cole in the last four or five days was not one hundred per cent,” Maresca said, per Chelsea’s official website.
“Today he tried in the warm-up, but he felt something, so we preferred not to take any risks and make it worse, and we will see in the next hours if it’s something important or not.
“It’s a groin problem. It’s already the Palace game he was not one hundred per cent for, but he has tried to make a big effort for the club, for the team, for the fans, because he is really keen about the team. Tonight he tried again but it was not very good.”
When Will Cole Palmer Return to Action?
Right now, Cole Palmer’s situation is uncertain. He will have to be watched in the coming days to ascertain if he can play next week against Fulham.
For now, he will only partake in light training until he is passed fit. Maresca and the Chelsea faithful will hope that their star man is ready to play soon.
