Enzo Maresca must deliver on solutions promise as key statistic highlights Cole Palmer's influence | OneFootball

Chelsea will be without Cole Palmer until after the October international break and now the onus is on head coach Enzo Maresca to find solutions.

The 23-year-old has been given a period to fully recover from his groin problem, which forced him off after 20 minutes against Manchester United last weekend.

Following discussions with the Chelsea medical team, Palmer will now miss the next three games against Brighton & Hove Albion, Benfica and Liverpool as they eye a return on October 18 against Nottingham Forest should the England international be fully fit.

"We (have) decided to protect a little bit Cole in terms of him not getting a worse injury," Maresca confirmed on Friday.

"So we decided to rest him for the next two, three weeks, probably until international break, just to see if with that rest he can be able to recover 100 per cent and to be completely fit after the international break."

Palmer's teammates will now need to step up in his absence to fill the void. | IMAGO / Every Second Media

Maresca added: "No, I don't think he needs surgery. It's just a matter of managing his pain and his groin.

"The amount of games is something that can happen. So this is the reason why we try to be conservative with him to give him rest and hopefully he can be 100 per cent fit after the international break."

As the Chelsea head coach has mentioned previously, although they would prefer to have Palmer available for selection, they will find different solutions to cope with the attacker's injury absence.

"We said that with Cole we are a better team, but we also said that we need to play games without Cole, so we are not going to play with 10 players for sure," concluded Maresca. "We are going to find a different solution."

Only time will tell if Chelsea are able to battle through without their star player. But the statistics don't lie and the Blues will need to prove they are capable.

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Unsurprisingly, Chelsea's win record with Palmer in the side is far greater than when he is unavailable, with the win percentage better off by more than 15 per cent.

Every metric suggests Chelsea are worse off when Palmer is out the side, and with crucial matches awaiting in the next week, Maresca's side will need their temporary solution to pay off immediately.

Should Chelsea fail to pick up valuable points, the pressure for Palmer to deliver upon his return could be even greater to help steer the side back in the right direction.