Palmer, Badiashile: Maresca offers expected injury return dates on Chelsea duo | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca said Chelsea duo Cole Palmer and Benoit Badiashile could make their return ahead of tough fixtures in late November, as initially planned.

Chelsea have had more luck in recent weeks compared to at the start of the season with injuries.

Ahead of the Champions League clash with Qarabag on Wednesday, for instance, Pedro Neto has been the only one to pick up a fresh injury, and Maresca already confirmed that it is a minor issue.

Even better, two of the four remaining players on Chelsea's injury list, Palmer and Badiashile, are expected to be back this month.

"We hope so, but with Cole we try to plan, we try to schedule, you know, at the beginning," Maresca said on Tuesday when asked whether Palmer would be back for the match against Barcelona on November 25.

"Then we need to review that. So, in this moment, we go day by day with Cole.

"He's not taking any sessions with the team.

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"And we have Benoit Badiashile, who probably can be available after the international break, and that is, for us, huge news."

Palmer's and Badiashile's return for the late November fixtures could prove crucial, since Chelsea will not only host Barcelona in the Champions League, they will also face Arsenal in the Premier League just four days after.

On the other hand, Dario Essugo, who joined Chelsea from Sporting CP in the summer, remains out, likely until the second half of the season.

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"I don't know, January, December, January. Not sure yet, but we are already in November," Maresca said about Essugo's injury.

Maresca also added that he is not worried about Essugo's absence since he has plenty of midfield options at his disposal, as he named Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, and Andrey Santos as the obvious alternatives in midfield.

The last player on the injury list is Levi Colwill, who is likely to miss the majority of the season after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament surgery.