METRO
Cole Palmer is set to be available for Chelsea’s Premier League match against Leicester City on Saturday.
Palmer was a doubt for Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal before the international break due to a knee injury he suffered in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on November 3.
Chelsea’s talisman initially reported for international duty with England during the international break before both he and Levi Colwill pulled out of Lee Carsley’s squad.
Chelsea will be without Reece James for their trip to Leicester for Saturday’s early Premier League match, but Palmer took part in both training sessions on Thursday and Friday.
‘We have, for sure, just one injured player, that is Reece [James] who unfortunately felt something small and we don’t want to take any risk for the weekend,’ Enzo Maresca said on Thursday.
‘He is the only one for sure who is not available for this weekend.
‘The rest, some of them are better, some of them are still doubts and also we need to wait because today is the first session that we do with all the players who were with their national team.’
Asked specifically about Palmer and Levi Colwill, Maresca replied: ‘As I said, yes, some of them are better, some of them we test today. But overall, they are better.’
On James’ injury, Maresca added: ‘It’s a hamstring, it’s a muscular problem. We don’t want to take any risks for this weekend, hopefully it’s not something long.
‘I know that it’s not easy but if every time he gets an injury it becomes hard for him, for me it’s even worse. He has to accept that. He has to try to avoid as much as he can, but sometimes things happen, even if you want to avoid that.’
