Cole Palmer has broken a toe in an accident at home and will miss the next three Chelsea games against Burnley, Barcelona and Arsenal.
Palmer stubbed his little toe on his left foot against a door.
The forward had been set to return to the field after being out since September with a groin injury.
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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca reveals that Cole Palmer has suffered a toe injury in an accident at home meaning he will miss the next few games.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says “for sure” Palmer will be unavailable for the games with Burnley, Barcelona and Arsenal.
“Unfortunately, he had an accident at home where he hit his toe but it is nothing important – but he won’t be back in the next week,” said the Blues boss.
When asked how long Palmer could now be missing, Maresca added: “We don’t know. [His toe] It’s fractured. The only thing we know: he is not available for this week and next week.”
Expanding on the injury, Maresca said: “The last time I saw him was [Thursday] morning and he was without socks, without flip-flops, without nothing. He wasn’t limping too much.
“He was walking OK but the problem is it is the small toe. The contact with the boot can be a bit painful.”
Palmer’s groin injury has restricted him to just three Premier League appearances this season. He was forced off after just 21 minutes on his last appearance at Manchester United and has been unavailable for Chelsea or England since. Palmer had returned to training at Cobham before suffering his toe injury.
Maresca: I feel much better with Palmer on the pitch
Since that 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford, Chelsea have won four and lost two in the league in Palmer’s absence. They sit third in the Premier League table, six points off leaders Arsenal.
On playing without Palmer, Maresca said: “The team prefer it when Cole is playing, I feel much better with Cole on the pitch but when he is not we need to find solutions.
“The team is doing fantastic, really well. For any manager, it’s nice when you miss a player but the team still plays in the way you want it to.”
Chelsea’s next five fixtures
Burnley (A) – Saturday November 22, 12.30pm, Premier League
Barcelona (H) – Tuesday November 25, 8pm, Champions League
Arsenal (H) – Sunday November 30, 4.30pm, Premier League – live on Sky Sports
Leeds (A) – Wednesday December 3, 8.15pm, Premier League – live on Sky Sports
Bournemouth (A) – Saturday December 6, 3pm, Premier League
More to follow..