Chelsea ace Cole Palmer to miss next four games due after injury meeting

Chelsea star midfielder Cole Palmer is expected to remain sidelined until October due to a persistent groin injury, according to reports.

The 23-year-old last featured for Chelsea in their 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in September, during which he was on the pitch for only 21 minutes before being taken off.

He has since missed four games in all competitions, with Chelsea winning three of them and losing just one.

He has also been left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad to face Wales and Latvia.

Tuchel described the midfielder’s absence from recent England camps as “concerning”, and he was worried that the injury could become “chronic”.

According to BBC Sport, Chelsea recently held a meeting to discuss Palmer’s injury situation, and the midfielder is expected to be out of action for the next month.

As a result, he is likely to miss upcoming games against Nottingham Forest, Ajax, Sunderland, and Wolves.

The report also adds that the England international has nursed the recurring groin injury since the pre-season following Chelsea’s Club World Cup-winning campaign.

Still, he managed to make four appearances for Chelsea since the start of this season, and scored twice during this period.

During Palmer’s absence, several Chelsea players have stepped up to play as the number 10 under Maresca, including Estevao, Enzo Fernandez, and on-loan midfielder Facundo Buonanotte.

While Chelsea have mostly had positive results while Palmer has been out, he remains the primary creative spark in the team, so this still affects the team significantly.

That said, it is easy to understand why Chelsea would not want to risk aggravating the injury, given how influential he could be to the team’s season overall.