Enzo Maresca issued an update on the fitness of Cole Palmer ahead of our weekend trip to Burnley, while also confirming the return of a Chelsea defender.
The Blues head to Turf Moor for a lunchtime clash on Saturday, looking to build on our last Premier League game – a 3-0 home victory over Wolves. Three points against Scott Parker’s Clarets will see Chelsea move into second place in the Premier League, at least until Manchester City’s game with Newcastle later on Saturday.
The latest team news was the topic of the Italian’s media briefing, with an update on Palmer the first port of call. The England international has been sidelined since September with a groin injury and while the attacker is almost over that issue, a small injury to his toe has set him back slightly and will see him miss our next three games according to Maresca.
‘Cole won’t be available for for tomorrow, no,’ our Italian head coach confirmed to journalists at his pre-match press conference.
‘For sure he won’t feature in this game, and for sure not for Barcelona or Arsenal. Unfortunately, he had an accident at home two days ago where he hit his toe. It is fractured. It’s disappointing but these things can happen.
‘It’s nothing too serious but it’s causing him some pain on his little toe and for sure he’s not going to be available for this week or next.
‘He was very close to being back with us from his groin issue. Which is very good but then he had this problem with his toe, which has set him back. It’s nothing major but he needs a bit more time to recover.’
Elsewhere Maresca delivered a positive update on other members of his squad, including Benoit Badiashile who the head coach revealed is ready to return to action after injury and could be part of the squad at Burnley.
While Moises Caicedo has returned from international duty with no issues and Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto are both available for selection too.
‘Moi came back last night,’ continued Maresca. ‘I haven’t seen him yet but I’ve been told he’s okay and he will train today.
‘Benoit is back and he’s available for tomorrow, which is very good news for us.
Enzo and Pedro used the international break to recover from the little issues they had and recover the energy levels. They are both okay and available for tomorrow’s game.’
