Chelsea started their 2025/26 campaign on a positive note, and they were one of the only teams apart from Liverpool to remain unbeaten after the first four Premier League fixtures.
However, within a week, they have fallen off drastically with a 3-1 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League followed by a 2-1 defeat against Manchester United.
The Blues had a forgetful outing at Old Trafford as Robert Sanchez was sent off in the fifth minute of the game and later Cole Palmer was subbed off citing an injury concern.
Enzo Maresca's men will be looking to bounce back when they will take the field against Lincoln City in the EFL Cup fixture on Tuesday.
Before the away trip to Lincoln, Maresca provided an update on Palmer's groin injury, as he told the reporters, "Cole is probably the only one that we need to assess a little bit. The rest are okay, just recovering from last week.
"He did already a huge effort last Saturday to try and play the game. He tried Saturday morning, he was not 100%, but he wants to be there to help teammates in that kind of game.
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"It was painful (for him) so we decided to change. We await day by day to see how he is and then decide what we do."
Palmer was taken off in the 21st minute of the match against United and fans were livid with Maresca until they understood that the England international is struggling with a groin issue.
He was one of Chelsea's best players in their defeat against Bayern Munich as he scored the only goal for the Blues.
But event in that game in the second half, there were moments where Palmer had a grimace on his face, and one could say he is trying to push through an injury.
What did Maresca say about Palmer requiring a surgery?
Palmer suffered the issue first during warmup before Chelsea's clash against West Ham United and since then he hasn't been the same despite scoring goals against teams like Brentford and Bayern Munich.
The 23-year-old brings a different kind of bit to this Chelsea attack, and they are not the same team without him pulling the strings.
While there is a lot of uncertainty about his return, there are also fears of him needing a surgery for his groin issue.
When asked about Palmer undergoing a surgery to resolve the issue, Maresca stated, "The medical staff didn't mention to me about surgery until today. I don't know if it will be in the next weeks, but I don't think so to be honest."
The Italian manager also highlighted how his team controlled the game when the game transformed into a 10v10 after Casemiro received a red card for United in the second half.
Chelsea are not featuring in all competitions this season and many feel fatigue played a big role in their defeat against United.
"The game is dictated by the red card. When we were 10v10 we had almost 70% possession. I hope we don't have any more games with 10 players after three or four minutes. It is difficult."
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