Cole Palmer has been sidelined since the end of September with a groin injury and is not expected to return until after the next international break.
Chelsea forward Cole Palmer says he is training hard as he continues to recover from a groin injury that interrupted the 2025/26 season. The player has appeared in just four games for Enzo Maresca’s side and the problem has reoccurred twice this season.
Palmer was initially injured before the 5-1 win over West Ham United in August and was left out of the starting XI for the clash at the London Stadium. He missed the win against Fulham but returned after the September international break.
Following his goal in the stalemate against Brentford and the defeat against Bayern Munich, Palmer only played 21 minutes in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United. The 23-year-old has not played since exacerbating the same issue in his brief return.
read more: Chelsea get latest update on Cole Palmer’s injury, ‘reason’ for when to return revealedread more: Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is ‘crying’ after being sent a ‘difficult’ message after Tottenham’s provocation
Palmer has missed nine games in all competitions, but Maresca said he was hopeful of returning for the Champions League game against Barcelona on November 25.
“I hope so, but with Cole, we have to make the initial schedule and then review it. We are working with Cole on a daily basis. He has not had any team sessions,” Maresca said on Tuesday, ahead of the trip to Qarabag. “We want to have Cole here tomorrow and for every game. Unfortunately he’s injured, but we definitely hope to have him back soon.”
The midfielder provided a brief update on his rehabilitation status via Instagram on Monday, following Chelsea’s win over Tottenham over the weekend and Palmer celebrating on social media. She shared eight photos, including one taken inside the gym, and captioned it, “I don’t care what the 5th photo says.”
The fifth image in the post features a whiteboard message that reads, “Nobody tosses. Try harder.” This follows an update from injury expert Ben Dinery on Palmer’s recovery.
Speaking to our sister publication football.london via Escapist Magazine, Deanery provided insight into Palmer’s recovery ahead of the winter schedule. He said, “Especially if you’re talking about load issues, sometimes you don’t get symptoms until the final stages. You might be fine for three, four, five days, but then you increase the intensity and increase the load and all of a sudden you start feeling a little bit more intense.”
“Ultimately, nothing has been decided in terms of time frame. I think we are thinking about after the international break. We have a busy period around Christmas and around that, but it’s one of those times where we can see how Cole Palmer manages in terms of playing time.”
“Again, that factor could be Chelsea’s form and we probably thought we were OK until last weekend when we lost at home to Sunderland.
“They’ll have the thought and understanding that when Cole Palmer comes back, they want him to be healthy and available not just for games two, three, four, five, but through the festive period through January and the rest of the season beyond that.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£49
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
