Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer is a doubt for his team’s upcoming match against Brentford this weekend.
The current world champions have secured seven out of nine points in their opening games this season but have had to do so without Palmer in two of those matches.
The England international suffered a knock and missed wins over West Ham and Fulham, while also being excused from the England camp.
Ahead of the Brentford clash, Maresca provided an update on Palmer’s availability.
“He took part in the session yesterday for the first time, but not the entire session. We have one more session this afternoon, and we are going to try with him to see if he’s okay; otherwise, he will be out tomorrow,” Maresca said.
He is recovering from an injury. It’s not about managing him yet; it’s about recovery. When he is available, we will need to manage him because of the number of games, he added.
In addition, Maresca confirmed that Delap, who was injured in the last game against Fulham, will be out for close to 10–12 weeks, which will be significant for the upcoming fixtures.
On the positive side, however, Maresca believes Reece James is now fit to play multiple games within a week following his involvement with the England camp.
In the moment that any player joins an international team, he is fit to play the minutes the manager thinks he has to play. It’s not in my hands. When Reece is here, we try to manage him as best as we can. Reece is showing he is quite fit to play two or three games in a week, Maresca said.
