Chelsea manager Maresca is optimistic about the injury of team star Palmer but emphasized that he has not fully recovered and it remains uncertain whether he will play in the crucial match against Arsenal on Sunday. Previously, Palmer was injured by a tackle from Lisandro Martinez during the game against Manchester United.
Palmer was Chelsea’s top scorer last season with 25 goals, and he has been in good form this season as well. His participation is crucial for Chelsea, but after being injured in the match against Manchester United, he missed the team’s training sessions this week and did not participate in the 8-0 victory over Noah in the Europa Conference League. Even if he were fit, he could not play in this competition because the club did not register him for the Europa Conference League.
Regarding Palmer’s condition, Maresca provided the latest update, stating that Palmer will undergo a final check before the match against Arsenal.
“Cole is recovering, but being able to walk and eat does not mean he is fully healthy,” the Italian coach said at a press conference. “He is making progress, and we have two more days to prepare for the match. We hope we can get him through one training session—hopefully on Saturday—and then we will make a decision.”
Palmer has continued to be an important player for Chelsea this season, scoring 7 goals and providing 5 assists, so the Blues definitely need their English “playmaker” for the match against Arsenal.
Besides Palmer and Sancho, Chelsea has no other personnel issues. Maresca stated that his policy of rotating players to “protect” them has proven effective. He said, “Since the start of the season, everything we have tried to do is to protect the players, as playing three matches a week is different from playing one match a week. Our rotation strategy has indeed worked.”
