Cole Palmer injury news: Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca gives update after frustrating setback - The Mirror

Cole Palmer has missed the last eight Chelsea matches with a groin injury and manager Enzo Maresca has given an update on the timeline of his return to the pitch

Cole Palmer should be back training with Chelsea before the end of November, according to Enzo Maresca. Palmer has been sidelined with a groin injury and has missed the last eight Chelsea matches.

The Blues playmaker has been battling with a tricky injury which initially didn’t seem serious but has created a frustrating barrier. Palmer has not played for Chelsea since being substituted during the 2-1 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 20.

He suffered a setback two weeks ago and his recovery timeline has not been clear to Chelsea supporters. It had previously been reported that he would be back playing by early December – and that still appears likely after Maresca’s latest update.

“I just met him in the canteen for breakfast, and I told him, I will say that in one week you are back,” Maresca joked on Friday ahead of a trip to Tottenham in the Premier League. “He was laughing. Now with Cole, exactly the same plan. Wait, and hopefully he can be back soon.”

England boss Thomas Tuchel had worried some by reportedly describing Palmer’s injury as “chronic” but Maresca tried to clear things up recently. “I was wrong. Unfortunately, he needs to be out probably six more weeks,” the Chelsea boss said. “Yes, absolutely [he still doesn’t need surgery].

“We try just to protect Cole as much as we can and the most important thing is that. Unfortunately, the medical staff, they are not magicians, they never know that you probably need six weeks.

“We hope that six weeks are enough, but it’s a problem that we need to see step by step, week after week, but for sure he’s going to be okay. He looks very good, to be honest, he looks relaxed. He’s trying to recover from the injury, he’s doing all the therapy that he needs to do, so he looks good.”

Palmer is clearly itching to get back playing for Chelsea, having written on social media: “Can't wait to be back, man."

Maresca also name-checked Palmer when defending Liam Delap following his red card in the 4-3 win over Wolves in the Carabao Cup. “There are two players in this team, three players in this team, that I know them better than the rest,” he said.

“Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer and Liam Delap because I know them from the Under-21s [at Manchester City], four years ago. So I know Liam always and I know that Liam will be a fantastic player for us but there are some things like the rest that he needs to improve.”

Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League ahead of their trip to face Tottenham on Saturday following their 2-1 defeat by Sunderland on the weekend.

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