Enzo Maresca confirms Cole Palmer fracture as Chelsea return vs Burnley, Barcelona & Arsenal ruled out | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer has fractured his toe after an "accident" at home and will not be available for the next three fixtures.

It has been almost six weeks since Maresca confirmed the new expected return date for Palmer, who had been nursing a persistent groin injury since the start of the season.

Earlier reports also suggested that Chelsea were hoping to have the 23-year-old back in time for the Champions League match against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, Maresca has now delivered the bad news that Palmer is expected to be out for at least another couple of weeks.

IMAGO / Paul Marriott

"He is probably not available for tomorrow, for sure, Barcelona, for sure, Arsenal, for sure," the Italian said in Friday's press conference.

"Unfortunately, he had an accident at home with his toe. But it's nothing important. For sure, he is not back next week.

"We don't know. It's fractured. The only thing we know he is not available for this week and next week."

While Chelsea should remain favourites against Burnley, Palmer's absence could be an issue in next week's matches against Barcelona and Arsenal.

This is such a frustrating situation, as Maresca also said that Palmer had been close to returning from his groin issue.

IMAGO / News Images

"He was very close," Maresca explained.

"He was back with us almost with the groin, which is very good news, but he has this small problem."

The Blues have coped relatively well without the England international, with eight wins from their 11 games since Palmer's early substitution in the Manchester United defeat.

Still, Maresca made it clear that Chelsea need the creative midfielder.

"The team prefer it when Cole is playing," said Maresca.

"I feel much better with Cole on the pitch, but when he is not, we need to find solutions.

"The team is doing fantastic, really well. For any manager, it's nice when you miss a player, but the team still plays in the way you want it to."