Chelsea are set to face Fulham in the first West London derby of the Premier League season in the early kick-off on Saturday.
However, the Blues have been dealt a blow before kick-off as three of their players have been ruled out of the game.
Most importantly, the Chelsea management and fans have been sweating over the fitness of their talisman, Cole Palmer, who picked up an injury during the warm-up before their last game against West Ham United on Friday night.
Palmer underwent a scan of his groin to diagnose the extent of his injury, and fortunately, it’s not as bad as first feared.
However, there was a feeling that the game against Fulham might just have come a bit too soon for him.
Though Palmer was replaced by Estevao Willian, who put in an impressive display on the night, the fans would like to have the English international back as soon as possible.
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Chelsea confirm whether Palmer will be fit to face Fulham on Saturday
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed that Palmer, Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile won’t play against Fulham this weekend due to injury.
“Cole is out. Also, Benoit is out, and Romeo is out. The rest are all okay,” Maresca said, as quoted by Chelsea’s official website.
“Cole we need to see day by day, and the other two I don’t think are going to be back after the international break. But they are going to be closer.”
While Palmer’s absence is a big blow to the team, they showed that they can find ways to win even without him and Maresca will be hoping for a similar performance against the Cottagers.
Now that Palmer’s absence from the game has been confirmed, one can expect Chelsea to name an unchanged line-up from last week, with Estevao Willian playing as an attacking midfielder behind Liam Delap.
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