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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has issued an update on the availability of Cole Palmer and Liam Delap
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Chelsea will be without Liam Delap for '10-12 weeks', according to Maresca, after the striker sustained an injury before the international break. Delap lasted just 14 minutes of Chelsea's recent victory over Fulham, meanwhile Cole Palmer did not feature at all for the second game running. The England attacker did not make Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions squad during September's international window, due to injury.
Palmer's issue appears to have been alleviated to an extent but Maresca's latest fitness revelation suggests the playmaker may not be ready to start, or complete 90 minutes. "Cole took part in the session yesterday for the first time, " Maresca revealed on Friday morning. "Not the entire session. We have one more session this afternoon, and we are going to try with him to see if he's OK.
"Otherwise, he will be out tomorrow. He is recovering from an injury - it's not managing him. When he is available, we need to manage him because of the amount of games. " Palmer played 90 minutes in Chelsea's Premier League opener against Crystal Palace but has not appeared since. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Ex-Manchester City duo Palmer and Delap may be suffering from the effects of a FIFA Club World Cup hangover, having featured heavily for the Blues at the summer tournament in the United States. Stamford Bridge teammate Levi Colwill has already been ruled out for an extended period of time with a serious knee injury picked up on his return to pre-season training last month.
Chelsea make the short journey across West London to face Brentford on Saturday evening, potentially without star man Palmer in the starting lineup. The Blues sit second in the Premier League table with two wins and a draw from their first three matches. Joe joined Four Four Two as senior digital writer in July 2025 after five years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
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