Chelsea injury update: Cole Palmer, Marc Cucurella and Romeo Lavia latest news and return dates | OneFootball

Blues sweating on fitness of a key defender ahead of Premier League return

Chelsea will aim for a return to winning ways in the Premier League after FA Cup progression.

Liam Rosenior’s side overcame Hull City 4-0 on Friday night to reach the FA Cup fifth round, quickly getting over the disappointment of throwing away a two-goal lead in the draw with Leeds.

That result, though not too damaging with Manchester United failing to capitalise, means Chelsea remain fifth in the Premier League table just two points clear of Liverpool and six behind third-placed Aston Villa.

Following a rare week off - thanks to avoiding a Champions League knockout phase play-off - the Blues return to action at the weekend with a home game against relegation-threatened Burnley.

With that in mind, here’s the latest Chelsea injury news and potential return dates...

Cole Palmer

Cole Palmer was left out of the Chelsea squad against Hull.

This was despite Palmer having scored four goals in his last two appearances for the Blues.

However, the attacking midfielder was just having his minutes managed, as explained by Rosenior.

“Managing — managing him,” the Chelsea boss said. “Brilliant to see Reece [James] back on the pitch. Brilliant for him to get those 60 minutes.

Cole Palmer is fully fit and back in form

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“I was planning on giving Enzo [Fernandez] 45 minutes with Moi [Caicedo]. I'm trying to manage their minutes. In the end, I felt it was right for Moi to stay on for 60.

“I'm delighted they've all come through unscathed and now, for the first time in a long time, they've got a full week to prepare for Burnley.”

Potential return date: February 21 vs Burnley (H)

Marc Cucurella

Chelsea’s ever reliable left-back was forced off at half-time against Leeds with a hamstring complaint and subsequently missed the win over Hull.

Rosenior was then asked for an update after the Hull match and said: “At the moment he’s not fit. There is an issue with his hamstring.

“I don’t know — I can’t give you a time frame on that at the moment.”

Unless Cucurella returns to full training during the week, it would appear that he will miss the visit of Burnley on Saturday, meaning the Arsenal game a week later becomes the target.

Potential return date: March 1 vs Arsenal (A)

Jamie Gittens

Jamie Gittens limped off during the comeback win over West Ham and is set for a long spell on the sidelines with a “tear in his hamstring”.

"Jamie is looking a little bit more long-term,” said Rosenior. "That’s a real shame for him as, obviously, I’ve not worked with him for too long, but I know about his career and what an outstanding player he is.

“So that’s going to be a big miss for us."

Potential return date: Unknown

Filip Jorgensen

Chelsea’s back-up goalkeeper has had a mixed time of things lately. Substituted at half-time of the Champions League win over Pafos with a muscle injury, he made a return quicker than expected and was named on the bench against Napoli.

However, he dropped out of the matchday squad for games against West Ham, Arsenal and Wolves. He was expected to be available for the cup tie against Hull but missed out once again.

Speaking before the 4-0 win over Hull, Rosenior said: “Filip's not fully fit at the moment. He's working really hard on his rehab.”

Potential return date: Unknown

Dario Essugo

Dario Essugo has not had much luck since joining Chelsea in the summer and suffered a fresh setback after being named on the bench for cup ties against Charlton and Arsenal in January.

“Dario has picked up a really unfortunate injury. He slipped in training, and he’s going to be out for a while,” Rosenior revealed.

“We expect him to be out for over a month, which is a real shame because he’s an outstanding player.”

Potential return date: March

Romeo Lavia

Romeo Lavia has been out since suffering a thigh injury during the early stages of the 2-2 draw away at Qarabag in November.

The midfielder has since returned to training and is nearing the end of his rehabilitation to raise hope of a comeback in the next week or so.

“We have a really detailed plan for him,” Rosenior explained before the draw against Leeds. “He was back on the training pitch with us the last two days.

Comeback trail: Romeo Lavia

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“It's been great to see him. He's been such a great player. We all know that. But what we have to do is make sure that when he's back, he's back for good.

“So we're just making sure that he gets the right plan over the next ten days to two weeks to achieve that.”

Potential return date: March

Levi Colwill

Levi Colwill is continuing his recovery from the serious knee injury he suffered in pre-season.

Rosenior has said the defender is progressing well and could even be in line for a return to action before the end of the season.

“Yes he could [be back before the end of the season] but it’s step by step and I don’t want to make promises that I can’t keep,” the Chelsea head coach revealed.

“At the moment, Levi’s in a really good place. He’s on the right track but I don’t want to put pressure on him.

Levi Colwill has not featured for Chelsea this season

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“I spoke to Levi this morning. He's working so hard and what a professional he is. It's been brilliant to see him back on the pitch running. He's itching to get back but we need to make sure he feels 100 per cent perfect.

“He’s another outstanding player I can’t wait to work with and he’s in a really good place. I don’t like putting timeframes on injuries because it puts unnecessary pressure on players when their health is the most important thing.”

Potential return date: May