‘There is no sense to it’ – Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca delivers worrying update on Cole Palmer with Blues’ attacking talisman still playing through pain after injury return

Maresca previously explained Palmer’s injury and Chelsea’s need to protect him back in September. Though he ultimately spent an extended period on the sidelines, it appears that the former Manchester City academy graduate is now closer to the physical condition he was in at the start of the season.

Maresca said at the time: “We need to protect Cole for sure, 100%. Not only Cole in my personal view because as I said now because of the Club World Cup or because we never stop, we need to manage and protect different players.

“The solution with Cole, I don’t know, now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him. But it’s also a kind of injury that is not like black and white. It’s an injury that someday you can be better. It’s not that you have pain and tomorrow disappear. Sometimes you can be better, sometimes you can be worse. That’s why we need to manage day by day.”