Enzo Maresca confirms reassuring Cole Palmer plan for Chelsea's trip to Newcastle | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca confirmed that Cole Palmer is ready for more minutes in Saturday's clash with Newcastle United after limited involvement in his last three appearances for Chelsea.

Palmer spent around two-and-a-half months on the sidelines after being forced off during Chelsea's defeat to Manchester United in September due to a persistent groin injury.

The injury has been a problem since pre-season, but after that, Chelsea decided to allow him to focus fully on his recovery.

The 23-year-old made his return as a substitute in Chelsea's defeat to Leeds United earlier this month, before making the starting line-up against Bournemouth and Everton.

It was clear that Maresca limited Palmer's minutes, considering the attacking midfielder was substituted off just before the hour mark in both games.

The good news is that Palmer is now closer to full fitness, and Maresca is planning to allow him to stay on the pitch longer.

IMAGO / Ulmer/Teamfoto

"He is available," the Italian reiterated on Friday when speaking about Palmer.

"He has already played 60 minutes twice – last time maybe it was even a little bit more.

"So the progression is that he can play more minutes, whether that is for 70 or 90 minutes, depends on the game."

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Maresca's decisions to leave out Palmer from the last two cup games, against Atalanta in the Champions League and Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup, certainly helped accelerate the midfielder's recovery as well.

The Chelsea head coach has recently described Palmer as the team's best player, so it is easy to see why he has been cautious in managing the England international's minutes.

It did not take long for Palmer to make an impact since his return, having scored in Chelsea's win over Everton last week.

This means he has already had three goals from five starts in all competitions this season, a goalscoring rate that Chelsea certainly missed during his absence.