Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said that Cole Palmer has been carrying an injury for some time. He recently revealed that the injury was the reason he missed the game vs West Ham.
Speaking to the press, Maresca shared that Palmer’s groin problem has been troubling him for several weeks leading up to yesterday’s fixture.
According to him, Cole wasn’t even 100 percent fit for the game vs Crystal Palace, so he had to be withdrawn from the starting XI last night.
He stated that Chelsea cannot afford to take unnecessary risks with the fitness of such a key player.
“Groin. Palace game, he was not 100% but he tried to make a big effort for the club, the fans and the team. He tried tonight, but it was not very good.
The last four or five days, he was not a hundred per cent. And tonight during the warm-up, he felt again something, so we preferred not to start with him and take any risks. We will see [how he is] in the next hours,” he said.
Maresca further noted that the huge victory against West Ham proved that Chelsea is not a one-man team.
He concluded by saying that those who have been referring to the Blues as Cole Palmer FC should have a rethink.
“You are there to say things, and people in general.
The ones that say we are just ‘Cole team’. Cole is our best player, we are a much, much better team. But we showed last season when Cole wasn’t 100% and we achieved top four,” he added.
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