Cole Palmer was a surprise scratch from the Chelsea starting lineup on Friday before the Blues kicked-off against West Ham at London Stadium.
“The last four, five days he was not 100% and tonight during the warm-up he felt again something so we preferred don’t start with him, don’t take any risks...we’ll see in the next hours,” Maresca said after the game.
The severity nor the specificity of the injury were revealed by Chelsea in their announcement.
The 23-year-old was seen leaving the pitch during the warm-up with Chelsea staff after apparently suffering an injury. He was replaced by Estêvão who had a major impact in his first Premier League start.
Palmer was later seen on the bench in a jacket preparing to watch his team in a London derby. Lucas Paquetá added insult to injury early with a screamer to open the scoring for West Ham. Though, the Blues responded in resounding fashion scoring five goals to defeat West Ham on the day.
João Pedro continued to star for Chelsea since coming over during the FIFA Club World Cup leading the way with three goal involvements on the night.
Palmer missed just one Premier League game last term, an away loss to Arsenal on Mar. 16 with a hamstring injury. He started 36 of the other 37 games in 2024–25 coming off the bench once as Chelsea’s talismanic player.
If Palmer is to miss any time, Estêvão, Jamie Gittens, Pedro Neto and João Pedro are suitable cover across the attacking line in the meantime.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Enzo Maresca Gives Cole Palmer Injury Update After Victory vs. West Ham.
