When Cole Palmer could make Chelsea return as Maresca confirms injury lay-off setback | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed the club's decision to rest Cole Palmer in the next few games due to a groin injury.

Having already missed Chelsea's Carabao Cup win over Lincoln City on Tuesday, Palmer was initially expected to be back for their upcoming Premier League bout with Brighton on Saturday.

Unfortunately, Maresca said the creative midfielder is still struggling with the groin injury he has been nursing for quite a while now, which has led to a tough decision from the club.

"Yeah, we decided to protect Cole a little bit in terms of him not getting worse injuries," the Italian said in Friday's press conference.

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

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Maresca also insisted that, at least for now, the club has decided against taking more drastic measures, such as surgery.

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

"(With) the amount of games, it is something that can happen. So this is the reason why we try to be conservative with him to give him rest."

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When will Cole Palmer be back?

As pointed out by Maresca, Palmer will likely be out until the international break, which means he will therefore be expected to be back in contention for the trip to Nottingham Forest's City Ground on October 18.

This means he is expected to miss the next three home games against Brighton, Benfica, and Liverpool.

Chelsea will have plenty of attacking options to fill the void left by his absence, with Estevao, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos, and Facundo Buonanotte all capable of playing as a number 10.

Buonanotte, who is on a season-long loan from Brighton, however, is not going to be available for Saturday's match against his parent club.

Aside from Palmer, Maresca also confirmed that two centre-backs; Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo, will be out for the next few games as well.