Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella teased that Cole Palmer broken his toe while playing video games.
The England playmaker has been sidelined since September with a nagging groin issue which had already derailed his involvement over the opening weeks of the new season. The expectation was that Palmer would be in contention to face Barcelona for Tuesday’s Champions League only for his return to be delayed in the most unexpected of circumstances.
Enzo Maresca revealed on Friday that his star player had broken his toe after stubbing it against a door. The Chelsea boss did not divulge any specific details, writing it off as “an accident at home” but Cucurella has shed some more light on the situation.
“To be fair, I don’t know. He’s running because I think it’s a FIFA game or something like this, I think,” the Spain international revealed this week.
Cucurella was just as stunned as the rest of the public to learn of Palmer’s latest setback. “To be fair, I couldn’t believe it,” the left back reflected.
“It’s true that these things can happen sometimes. We have a couple of times these things, but I’m stronger than them so I don’t feel anything!
“It’s a big upset for us, because he [Palmer] was near to playing with us and train with us. Now he needs to rest. But it’s part of life, a part of football. We have a personal life and have these kinds of problems. Hopefully he can recover fast.”
When Will Cole Palmer Be Fit for Chelsea Again?
Maresca was unable to provide a firm date on Palmer’s return. There is no chance of the 23-year-old figuring against Barcelona and the Italian boss ruled out this weekend’s almighty clash with Arsenal, although he warned that his return to full, first-team training “for sure it will be soon.”
“He is already on the pitch, already touching the ball, and the feeling is good,” Maresca told assembled media on Monday ahead of his side’s European bout with Barcelona.
In the absence of Palmer, Chelsea have largely leaned by Enzo Fernández and Cucurella himself for creativity. Inverting infield from his left back role, the wild-haired Spaniard played a crucial role in the game-breaking opener against Burnley on Saturday lunchtime. In fact, Fernández is the only Chelsea player who can better Cucurella’s tally of 14 chances created from open play this season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shocking Details Behind Cole Palmer’s Freak Injury Revealed by Chelsea Teammate.
