With a fitness test on Saturday, Cole Palmer will have a big day as he battles to be healthy and ready for Chelsea’s Premier League match against Arsenal on Sunday.
After being hurt by Lisandro Martinez during the Blues’ 1-1 draw with Manchester United last Sunday, Palmer, 22, has not trained this week. However, he is still optimistic of playing the Gunners this weekend in a fourth vs. fifth match at Stamford Bridge.
At Chelsea’s Cobham training complex on Friday night, Palmer shared a photo of himself sitting on a physio table with a ‘Game Ready’ wrap—a device used for hot and cold therapy—on his injured left knee.
Palmer’s availability for Sunday’s match will be determined by his participation in today’s training session, which manager Enzo Maresca hopes he can participate in.
‘He’s improved,’ manager Enzo Maresca responded when asked about his top player, who has seven goals in ten Premier League games this season. He is improving.
“Just because he can eat dinner and walk doesn’t mean he’s fully fit.” We still have two days to get ready for the game, and he is improving.
“Hopefully, at least on Saturday, we can have him for a session before making a decision.”
Palmer is not enrolled for the first half of the season in the third-tier European tournament, thus he was not involved in Thursday’s 8-0 Conference League thumping of Armenian team Noah.
Aside from Jadon Sancho’s injury, Chelsea has no other serious injury concerns. Declan Rice is playing for Arsenal despite having a broken toe. Martin Odegaard is still recovering from an injury spell, and Kai Havertz is doubtful to play for his old team against Inter Milan due to a gash to the head sustained in midweek.
