Chelsea star Cole Palmer could be set for an additional two months on the sidelines.
The England international is struggling with a continuing groin injury he sustained earlier this season and last featured for Enzo Maresca during his side's 2-1 defeat against Manchester United last month.
Palmer, who has 45 goals and 29 assists to his name at the club, is seen as one of Chelsea's most influential attacking players and having him out of the side until the festive period would come as a huge blow.
New Cole Palmer injury claim made as groin problem assessed
Injury expert Ben Dinnery has told Esports Bets that Palmer could be out of action until at least Christmas, should his groin injury continue to cause problems.
It is unknown at this point whether the former Manchester City man needs surgery to repair the issue and Dinnery admits these things take time in order to properly heal and avoid repeat problems.
“Cole Palmer has been struggling with an ongoing groin injury and there will certainly be discussions within Chelsea with regards to the best course of action to take and how best to manage him," began Dinnery.
“Behind the scenes they’ll be weighing up whether it is best just to have him out for two to three weeks, see how he responds to that and bring him back after the next international break, as opposed to going straight to surgery and potentially ruling him out for three months.
“Given how valuable he is to that Chelsea team, what’s another couple of weeks if they can have him back in the squad by the end of October? If you go under the knife, that could be the end of his 2025.”
Maresca has admitted that Palmer won't be available again until after the October international break, meaning more Chelsea players will have to step up in his absence.
“We decided to protect Cole a little bit in terms of him not getting a worse injury,” Maresca explained recently. “So we decided to rest him for the next two, three weeks, probably until international break, just to see if with that rest he can be able to recover 100% and to be completely fit after the international break.
“I don’t think he needs surgery. It’s just a matter of managing his pain and his groin. The amount of games is something that can happen. So this is the reason why we try to be conservative with him to give him rest and hopefully he can be 100% fit after the international break.”
