Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is optimistic about Cole Palmer’s availability for the crucial clash against Arsenal on Sunday, despite the forward picking up an injury in the match against Manchester United last week.
Palmer, Chelsea’s top scorer last season with 25 goals, was injured during the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford following a dangerous tackle from Lisandro Martinez.
The English forward missed Chelsea’s training session this week and watched Maresca’s team beat Noah 8-0 at Stamford Bridge midweek. While Palmer couldn’t play due to not being registered for the Conference League squad, there were concerns about Chelsea’s strength for the important match against Arsenal.
However, Maresca provided a positive update on the 22-year-old, who will undergo a final fitness test before Sunday’s game against Arsenal in West London.
“Cole is recovering, but just because he can walk and have dinner doesn’t mean he’s fully fit,” the Italian coach said in a press conference. “He’s improving, and we still have two days to prepare for the game. Hopefully, we can get him involved in a training session at least on Saturday and then we’ll make a decision.”
Palmer remains a key player for Chelsea this season, scoring 7 goals and providing 5 assists, so the Blues will certainly need their English “playmaker” in the big clash against Arsenal, who are level on points with Chelsea.
Apart from Jadon Sancho, who is recovering from injury, Chelsea have no other major injury concerns, with Maresca confirming that his rotation policy has proven to be correct.
He said: “The way we’ve tried to do everything since the start of the season is to protect players, because playing three games a week is different from playing one.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal received good news as captain Martin Odegaard is expected to feature, and Declan Rice will also play despite suffering a toe fracture in last week’s loss to Newcastle.