Manager Enzo Maresca expects Chelsea to have Cole Palmer back from injury this month to face Barcelona and Arsenal in the Champions League.
Chelsea’s game against Barça on November 25 and Arsenal five days later will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, but Palmer has yet to return to training after sustaining a groin injury in September.
Palmer has missed the past nine games and will not feature in Wednesday’s Champions League game against Qarabag. Head coach Maresca said on October 17 that his star player will be out for about six weeks.
Maresca said on Tuesday whether Palmer would be fit to play against Barcelona after the international break: “We hope so, but we are trying to arrange a schedule for the start of the game with Cole and then we will have to consider that.”
“We’re spending every day with Cole. He hasn’t had any sessions with the team.
“We have Benoît Badiashile, who will probably be available after the international break, which is big news for us.
Cole Palmer (right) speaks with Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca after suffering a groin injury in September.
“Honestly, we want to have Cole here tomorrow. We want to have Cole here every game. We’ve said many times that we’re a better team with Cole. Unfortunately for us, he’s out with an injury, but we definitely want him back soon.”
Pedro Neto did not take part in Tuesday’s training and will not take part in the game against Qarabag due to a “minor issue”.
Neto played 85 minutes in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Tottenham on Saturday, but will not be at risk for Wednesday’s trip to Azerbaijan.
“It’s not a problem, it’s just a small problem, so we’re trying to protect him,” Maresca said.
Coach Maresca was confident that Neto would return soon, but was less positive about Dario Esgo.
“He’s going to be out for a while yet, probably in the new year, January, December, I don’t know yet. We don’t know yet, but we’re already in November,” Maresca said.
“Moi (Caicedo) is doing well. We also have Romeo (Lavia) to cover that position. We also have Andrei Santos to cover that position.”
“At some point, we’ll use Josh (Acheampong), we’ll use Reece (James). As we always say, we’re trying to find solutions when we miss players.”
