Chelsea suffer massive injury blow ahead of Nottingham clash

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are riddled with injuries at the moment and the situation will not be getting better when the make the trip to Nottingham Forest on matchday 8 of the Premier League.

Chelsea boss Maresca has addressed the medical situation surrounding his team and delivered updates on eight players ahead of the Nottingham Forest fixture. Cole Palmer will be spending an additional six weeks on the sidelines due to his injury.

The England international last featured in the Blues defeat against Manchester United in September, where he limped off the field in the early minutes of the game. Initial reports from the medial team at Chelsea suggested that Palmer would return to action in October. However, the latest developments will leave Maresca without his crucial player until December.

What did Maresca say about Palmer?

The Chelsea gaffer was quick to reaffirm that his frontline player did not require any surgery. However, Maresca admitted that his initial assessment of the expected return from Palmer’s injury was incorrect.

Maresca also added that Palmer was not worked up about the situation and was treating it appropriately. The Blues manager has been quoted as saying by the Standard –

“I was wrong [about Palmer being back after the international break],

Unfortunately, he needs to be out probably six more weeks. Unfortunately, the medical staff are not magicians. We hope the six weeks are enough. But for sure, he’s going to be OK. He looks relaxed. He looks good.”

This is not good news for Cole Palmer from the perspective of the England national team that will participate in the FIFA World Cup next year in the United States of America. The new injury timeline will witness Palmer miss International duty for the third time on the bounce. Under the tutelage of Tuchel, Palmer has played only for 65 minutes in March.

Other Chelsea injury updates

Chelsea captain Reece James has received the green light to participate in the Saturday afternoon fixture. Enzo Maresca will also have the services of Andrey Santos, Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana at his disposal.

On the other hand the participation of trio of Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandes and Pedro Neto remains doubtful for the top flight fixture. Chelsea boss Maresca also delivered updates on the future of Benoit. The manager has been quoted as saying –

“Unfortunately, Benoit will be out until December,

A muscular problem. He was doing fantastically.

“We’re going to wait for him. Moi, Enzo and Pedro, they didn’t take part in the session yesterday. We’ll see if they are going to train today. Otherwise, they will [be out for Nottingham Forest].”

Trevor Chalobah will make himself available for selection after returning from suspension. Whereas, Maresca himself will serve a one match suspension for his wild celebrations following the winning goal against Liverpool. Chelsea will eyeing three points from their trip to Nottingham Forest.