There was growing hope that Cole Palmer could be back in action this week, with Chelsea set to face Barcelona midweek and then Arsenal next weekend, but those hopes were cruelly bashed by Palmer bashing
his little toe into something in his home. We’ve all been there, I’m sure, kicking into the corner of the bed or the dresser. Ouch.
The 23-year-old is thus set to miss more time — it’s not exactly clear how much, but at least another week or two. Double ouch!
Enzo Maresca confirmed the unfortunate news in his pre-match press conference, adding that Palmer will be wearing some special boots to aid in his recovery.
“He’s not available for tomorrow for sure, Barcelona, for sure, Arsenal, for sure. Unfortunately he had an accident at home two days ago and he hit his toe. It’s nothing important, but for sure he’s not back next week.
“We don’t know (how long he will be out for). The only thing we know is that he’s not available for this week, next week. He was very close (to returning to training). He was back with us almost with the groin and it was very good news. And then he had this small problem and hopefully it’s nothing important.”
“The last time I saw him was yesterday morning and he was without socks, without flip-flops. I did see him in the changing room. Was he in pain? No not too much, he was working ok. The problem is that it’s a small toe, so the contact with the boots can be painful.”
-Enzo Maresca; source: The Athletic
On the plus side, Palmer now has a bit more time to recover from his groin injury.
