Chelsea have had a topsy-turvy start to the 2025/26 season as they headed into the international break with a fantastic win over Liverpool.
Before that win, they lost games against Bayern Munich, Man United and Brighton and have suffered incessant issues with injuries, fluctuating form and disciplinary issues.
One of the biggest concerns for the Blues right now has to be Cole Palmer's unavailability due to his groin injury.
Ahead of Chelsea's Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca dropped a deflating update on Palmer's injury situation.
Earlier there were reports of the playmaker making a return to action after the international break but now Maresca shares that Palmer has suffered a setback.
"I was wrong [about Palmer]," Maresca told the reporters ahead of the trip to Nottingham Forest. "Unfortunately he needs to be out for six more weeks.
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"We try to protect Cole as much as we can. The most important thing is when he comes back, he is fully fit.
"The medical staff are not magicians. We hope six weeks are enough. We need to see it step-by-step. For sure, he's going to be okay.
"He looks relaxed. He has tried to recover from the injury and is doing all the therapy."
Chelsea experience wholesale injury issues
Apart from Palmer, Benoit Badiashile and Liam Delap continue to remain on the sidelines and are all set to miss the away trip to Nottingham.
While Reece James passing the fitness test is something to cheer about for the Chelsea fans especially after the fullback decided to withdraw from the England squad as a precautionary measure.
However, players like Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto are also doubts and further assessment before kickoff will only decide if they are ready for this fixture or not.
In some positive news, Andrey Santos, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Wesley Fofana are back in contention for selection providing the Italian with enough options in defense.
Overall, it will be an interesting clash for Chelsea as they are missing several important players and even Maresca won't be on the touchline following his marching orders against Liverpool.
The Blues are currently seventh in the Premier League points table, five points behind leader Arsenal after the first seven games.
Nottingham Forest's recent form under new manager Ange Postecoglou is also a massive point of concern and Chelsea will look to capitalize on that when they take the field on Saturday, October 18 at the City Ground.
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