Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has ruled midfielder Cole Palmer out of action until after the October international break as the Blues seek to ensure their talisman does not need surgery on a groin injury which has disrupted his start to the season.
Palmer pulled out in the warm-up of August’s victory over West Ham United and missed the following triumph over Fulham, before returning off the bench to score in the 2–2 draw with Brentford.
The England international then played 90 minutes in a goalscoring outing against Bayern Munich but managed just 20 minutes in the chaotic defeat to Manchester United, limping away with a flare-up of his original groin problem.
Ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion, Maresca insisted Chelsea remain confident Palmer will not need to undergo surgery, but revealed the 23-year-old will be kept out of action for the coming weeks to try and aid his natural recovery.
“We decided to protect Cole a little bit in terms of him not getting a worse injury,” Maresca explained. “So we decided to rest him for the next two, three weeks, probably until international break, just to see if with that rest he can be able to recover 100% and to be completely fit after the international break.
“I don’t think he needs surgery. It’s just a matter of managing his pain and his groin. The amount of games is something that can happen. So this is the reason why we try to be conservative with him to give him rest and hopefully he can be 100% fit after the international break.”
