Why Josh Acheampong is absent vs Lincoln as Cole Palmer's Carabao Cup omission confirmed | OneFootball

The reason for Josh Acheampong's absence from Chelsea's matchday squad against Lincoln City has been confirmed.

Head coach Enzo Maresca named his team to face the League One side on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup, however Acheampong was surprisingly missing from the team.

Chelsea made eight changes to the side which lost to Manchester United in the Premier League, with Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana and Enzo Fernandez the only players retaining their place.

Jorrel Hato was given the nod in defence, while youngsters Reggie Walsh, Ollie Harrison and Shim Mheuka were all included on the bench.

Acheampong's absence was a surprise, with the teenager also not included against Man United. However, the reason for Maresca's decision to not involve him against Lincoln has now been revealed.

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As reported by Nizaar Kinsella of the BBC, Acheampong hasn't been selected due to illness, confirming it is an enforced decision by the Blues.

Acheampong is rated very highly at Chelsea and is expected to play 'significant minutes' under Maresca at centre-back throughout the 2025/26 campaign.

Meanwhile, Cole Palmer is the big name absence for Chelsea. He has been given the night off amid an ongoing groin problem, which saw the 23-year-old play just 20 minutes against Man United before being substituted.

Maresca confirmed a decision will be taken during a meeting with the Chelsea medical team over trying to solve Palmer's groin issue.

On Monday, as quoted by Standard Sport, the Chelsea head coach said: “We need to protect Cole, for sure. Not only Cole, in my personal view, because of the Club World Cup and because we never stop.

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"Now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him. But it's also a kind of injury that is not like black and white.

"It's not an injury that some day you can be better. It's not that you are playing and tomorrow you disappear."