Why Cole Palmer Missed Juventus Friendly As Xabi Alonso Provides Fitness Updates on Chelsea Duo | OneFootball

Cole Palmer's absence in Wednesday’s 1-0 pre-season defeat to Juventus in Hong Kong has been explained.

Palmer and Levi Colwill were the two surprise absentees in the pre-season friendly against Juventus at the Kai Tak Stadium.

Palmer was not part of the main group when Chelsea held an open training session on Tuesday.

The England international still got on the pitch, but he only did individual training with a Chelsea coach before going back to the bench to join Colwill, who also missed the session.

While they were not expected to be in the starting line-up, their omission from the matchday squad certainly raised some eyebrows given Chelsea named a 21-man bench.

Palmer clarified that his absence was due to a small fitness issue.

“I am obviously disappointed not to play due to a slight issue, but I love Hong Kong and this amazing support,” said Palmer in a pre-game interview.

“The stadium and fans are amazing, and it should be a good night.”

Palmer and Colwill both out with minor issues

After the game, Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso confirmed that the two players suffered from discomfort rather than injuries.

“Yes, they had a few, not injuries, discomforts,” Alonso explained in his post-match press conference.

“Cole with a whack and Levi as well, so no point in taking a risk today, and hopefully they will be fine for Saturday.”

Chelsea will hope to have Palmer back to face AC Milan. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Adding about Palmer’s fitness issue, he said: “No, it's a whack, a contact injury that he had against Spurs. So it's not that.”

Unfortunately for Chelsea, Palmer’s absence was clearly felt in the game against Juventus.

Chelsea struggled to break down Juventus’ disciplined defence and eventually lost the match to a beautiful long-range strike by Edon Zhegrova in the second half, which gave Mike Penders no chance.

It was one of Juventus’ only two shots on target throughout the match. Chelsea had succeeded in limiting the Italian side's attack.

Without Palmer, Alonso also had limited options for the number 10 role in his pre-season squad.

Joao Pedro was deployed in this position, while Danny Welbeck made his first unofficial appearance for Chelsea up front following his summer transfer from Brighton and Hove Albion.

It remains unclear how long Palmer and Colwill will be sidelined, especially given Chelsea’s clearly cautious approach in managing their two stars.

Chelsea will next head to Indonesia for a friendly against another Italian team, AC Milan, on Saturday, August 8.

While it is another pre-season game, Chelsea will hope to bounce back from two consecutive defeats against Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus.

There are only a couple of weeks left before the season-opening match against Fulham on August 24, so it will be beneficial for the team's morale to pick up a few wins from the remaining three pre-season games, starting with Saturday's clash against AC Milan.