“Different solution” – Enzo Maresca opens up on who could replace “unique” Cole Palmer | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has admitted Chelsea will need to find a different solution in the continued absence of Cole Palmer.

Maresca confirmed that Palmer is set to miss another six weeks with the groin injury that’s caused him issues since the Club World Cup.

Palmer has only made four appearances this season, and the latest setback means he’s going to miss the next nine or ten games.

Enzo Maresca on who can step up in absence of Palmer

It’s possible Palmer could return against Barcelona or Arsenal at the end of November providing everything goes well in his recovery.

The Blues haven’t actually won a game in which Palmer’s played this season, and it’s likely the England international will end up missing the majority of the first half of the season.

Chelsea have tried different alternatives with Facundo Buonanotte playing against Lincoln and Benfica, whilst Enzo Fernandez has also been deployed in a more advanced position.

Palmer is set to be out for another six weeks. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Maresca does have options available to him, but he refused to be drawn into giving a name when asked who could step up in Palmer’s absence.

First of all, to replace Cole is difficult, because Cole is a very important player for us, probably one of the best players in the Premier League,” he told his pre-match press conference.

“So to replace that kind of player is always difficult, but I think the ones that we have, it depends on the game plan, Cole’s position against Liverpool was Malo Gusto, the previous game against Benfica I think it was Facundo [Buonanotte], it depends a little bit on the game plan we have, for sure we need to find a different solution, we need to find different skills, because we don’t have another player like Cole, because Cole is unique.”

Chelsea handed injury boost ahead of Nottingham Forest clash

Whilst it’s bad news in regards to Palmer, Chelsea have been handed an injury boost ahead of the game against Forest.

Wesley Fofana, Tosin and Andrey Santos are all set to return, whilst the Italian also confirmed Reece James is fully fit.

Maresca now has a decision to make about what his centre back pairing is, and it will be interesting to see who he opts to go with.