Cole Palmer has been plagued by a lingering groin injury this season and although he has returned to Chelsea, the England star is not yet fully fit and is battling pain.
Enzo Maresca has explained the extent of Cole Palmer’s lingering injury problems following his return for Chelsea vs. Leeds. Palmer has been plagued by injuries this season and hasn’t been able to find any consistency.
The England playmaker has made just six appearances in all competitions this season and has not played 90 minutes since September. He returned from a groin injury against Leeds on 3 December and played 58 minutes in the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth, but was left out of the traveling squad for Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League defeat against Atalanta.
Maresca said Palmer is fit enough to play in Saturday’s home league match against Everton, but has yet to play the full 90 minutes. “Yeah, he’s fine. He’s gotten better,” he said in Friday’s pregame press conference.
“He is free at the moment. He has another session this afternoon. He left his session with us yesterday with mixed feelings, but overall he is fine.”
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But Maresca said Palmer, who played around 30 minutes at Elland Road, was in “absolutely bad” pain, which will worry Chelsea supporters even though the Chelsea manager has ruled out surgery.
Asked if he would have to play through the pain for the rest of the season, Maresca said: “I hope not, but it happens a little bit every day.”
“I know he’s getting better, but (then) it can be bad depending on the day. For example, after the Leeds game, the next day he was completely unwell. And he played (only) 30 minutes. After Bournemouth he was fine. He played an hour. (It) doesn’t mean anything. It’s day-to-day that determines his mood.”
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Palmer injured his toe while on the sideline at home, which extended his absence. And with the World Cup coming up in the summer, there will be concerns about his lack of game time.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has made it clear that only players who regularly feature at club level will be selected. This means some big names could miss out on the 26-member squad representing Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Palmer has only played 65 minutes in a friendly against Andorra since Tuchel took over. He is also vying for a position with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Morgan Rodgers and Ebelesi Eze at his disposal as a number 10, with Tuchel well-stocked.
Meanwhile, Maresca is desperate for a win against Everton following Chelsea’s poor performance, which has seen them pick up three points in four games since beating Barcelona on November 25.
When asked about consistency, Maresca said, “Yeah, that’s the next step for us.” “I think the teams that are ultimately more consistent over the course of the season are the ones that stay there.
“What do we need to do to avoid that? Probably considering what happened last year, it’s only a week now, which isn’t that long. But certainly when something happens, we’ll be better prepared and better prepared for the next thing and we can avoid it.”
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