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17 manager news conferences taking place on Friday as the Premier League returns after the international break - see when your manager is speaking Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has confirmed that midfielder Cole Palmer will miss "six more weeks" with a groin injury Maresca says he "was wrong" about his early prognosis on Palmer's return but says Palmer is still not set to have surgery What's going on with Palmer's injury? Nizaar Kinsella with the latest Arne Slot confirms goalkeeper Alisson Becker will miss the next few weeks with injury but Gravenberch and Konate fit After a three game losing streak, Slot also says his side have 'conceded too many goals' and has explained why he thinks that's been happening Ange Postecoglou will be speaking to the media at 13: 30 BST with his future at Nottingham Forest uncertain, just seven games into his tenure Arsenal go into the weekend top of the Premier League, although Bournemouth will claim top spot - even if just for a few hours - by beating Crystal Palace on Saturday Team news: Gruda out, Mitoma and Veltman to be assessed | Lewis Hall & Yoane Wissa | Brooks Send us your thoughts before the weekend's action - click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Written by Alastair Telfer, Alex Brotherton, Adwaidh Rajan & Sean Byrne. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say I think blaming the CWC for injuries is really narrow-minded thinking. Chelsea's injury list this season has mainly comprised of players that are more familiar with the physio room than the training pitch. Is the CWC to blame for Arsenal's injuries? Tottenham's? Brighton's? LG Crystal Palace v Bournemouth (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Bournemouth Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola on David Brooks picking up an injury during international duty: "It's not the best moment to have an injury. Brooksy was playing very well, and we will take this like a small break and use it in a positive way to come back with the same intent and condition. " Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Nizaar Kinsella BBC Sport Chelsea reporter It is no secret that Cole Palmer is one of Chelsea's star players, so any prolonged absence is a major blow. The 23-year-old was involved in 39 Premier League goals in 2024 (26 goals and 13 assists), breaking Chelsea's club record for a single calendar year. Last season, Palmer starred in the Conference League and Club World Cup finals, delivering two goals and three assists across both matches. Medical staff have since dealt with Palmer's painful recurring groin injury, trying unsuccessfully to manage him through the season so far. Palmer withdrew from the warm-up minutes before facing West Ham in August, pulled out of England international duty in September, and came off after 21 minutes in the defeat at Manchester United. That Manchester United match proved the final straw, as Chelsea stopped trying to manage Palmer through the season and sought to resolve his injury once and for all. The current stance from Maresca and the club is that surgery will not be needed, but it remains to be seen whether Palmer can fully overcome the injury after this latest setback within the new time frame. Brighton v Newcastle (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler talking about Diego Gomez after he suffered an injury while on international duty with Paraguay: "Unfortunately players don't come back like how we left them, they come back with small issues. We have tried to manage it across the last couple of days. "The other players including Diego Gomez we will assess, but there is a high chance that they are an option and can start the game" Brighton v Newcastle (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler speaking on who will be unavailable against Newcastle: "Brajan Gruda can't play tomorrow, he won't be available. "Karou Mitoma and Joel Veltman are training, but we will have to assess them as well. There is still a question mark over both so we will have to wait. " We are still waiting on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, so here is some Fabian Hurzeler on Brighton. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Clive @10: 16 doesn't know what he's talking about calling the CWC a meaningless competition. We are the first and only world champions - sounds like a bitter, jealous fan of our success. Wouldn't trade it for the world, even if it does hamper us a bit this year. Matty Clive's thoughts are here. Fulham v Arsenal (Sat, 17: 30 BST) Arsenal Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta would have been all smiles heading into the international break as the Gunners took first place in the Premier League with a win against West Ham. The result took Arsenal's winning streak to four games across all competitions and they also maintain a perfect record in the Champions League with two wins from two. So it is no wonder Opta have them favourites for not just winning their first Premier League title since 2004 but also a first-ever Champions League. Opta have Arteta's side finishing at the top of the Premier League standings in more than 44% of their simulations. Liverpool, beaten 2-1 by Chelsea before the break, are only one point behind but Opta only gives them a 30. 93% chance of defending the title while Manchester City's chances of becoming champions stand at 13. 98%. The story is not very different in Europe either as Arsenal have the highest chance of winning the Champions League at 19. 65% with Paris St-Germain next, with a 14. 73% probability of becoming back-to-back champions. Liverpool have a 12. 72% probability of lifting the trophy while Bayern Munich and Manchester City each have about 10% chance of emerging victorious on the continental stage. Fulham v Arsenal (Sat, 17: 30 BST) Alex Howell BBC Sport Arsenal reporter Arsenal take on Fulham tomorrow as they get back to Premier League action after the international break. Mikel Arteta has some team news updates to give with captain Martin Odegaard ruled out for 6-8 weeks and Peiro Hincapie returning to training after a groin issue. There are also questions to be asked about Ben White who was not pictured in training and has had fitness issues this season. Striker Viktor Gyokeres hasn’t scored for six games for Arsenal and also did not score in his two matches for Sweden meaning he’s without a goal for 8 games. Arteta said he gave him a hug for his efforts after the last match against West Ham but with Kai Havertz still out injured, Arsenal need the striker to start firing. That's all from Enzo Maresca, we will hear from Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta shortly. Nottingham Forst v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Nizaar Kinsella BBC Sport Chelsea reporter Chelsea's star forward Cole Palmer has struggled throughout the season, and this injury absence could last up to ten weeks in total. He picked up the recurring groin injury in pre-season, following a sensational summer in the Club World Cup, which Chelsea won. There, Donald Trump, the US president, presented him with the Golden Ball after the final victory over Paris Saint-Germain. Palmer played 90 minutes on the opening day but withdrew from the warm-up for the next match against West Ham and later pulled out of England international duty in September. He returned to play three matches for Chelsea but lasted only 21 minutes in an away defeat at Manchester United before withdrawing. He has been sidelined ever since. Palmer has been partly doing his rehabilitation in Dubai with a personal trainer. Maresca had hoped to have him back after the October international break, but the absence - now extended by six weeks - is a blow, ruling him out until after the November break at the earliest. Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Chelsea Finally from Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, he was discussing substitutions and how far ahead they are planned: "When we analyse a team we try and consider everything. "We have watched all the games with Ange [Postecoglou] in charge, so making changes you sometimes plan but also it depends on the game. "With amount of games now we need to think of change not only during but also the starting XI. " On improvement scoring from set pieces: "Since I joined the club, Bernardo [Cueva] is in charge for set pieces. "Something you can score or concede, but overall, between goals we score and concede, we are doing quite well. " Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say It was always likely that spending the off-season playing a meaningless competition in America would catch up with Chelsea. It may have been financially beneficial for the club but it seems a case of 'money doesn't talk, it swears'. Clive, London Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Chelsea Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on the moment against Liverpool which resulted in his sending off: "It was a big moment for many reasons.

Firstly, it is because since I joined club we have never won a game at home in last minute. "The other reason was we were playing, in this moment, the champions of England, . It was an important moment for sure. "For me personally it was a normal

reaction and that is all. " On getting a red card: "It was a nice moment. Last season I was

banned for one game because of accumulation of yellows. "My last yellow card was Fulham away

when we won in last minute. It is part of the job. But I think it was very nice for everyone - fans, stadium - and it was just a reaction. " Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say I personally think that Chelsea will not be as prolific in goal scoring without Palmer. Just look at their match against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. They will miss him a lot with him being injured. Josh, London Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Nizaar Kinsella BBC Sport Chelsea reporter Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca delivered bad news that Cole Palmer is out for "six more weeks" with injury but still appeared relaxed. In addition, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez are all doubts to face Nottingham Forest, while in-form defender Benoit Badiashile is out "until December". However, it is positive that Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana and Andrey Santos all return. It was still a confident, relaxed-looking Maresca after the win over Liverpool and he will look for "solutions" within his big squad to replace any big absentees. Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Chelsea Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca gave the latest update on who can step up in Cole Palmer's absence: "To replace Cole, it is difficult.

Cole is a very important player for us. One of the best players in Premier league so he is always difficult

to replace. "With what we have it depends on gameplan. Against Liverpool it was [Malo] Gusto. Against Benfica it was Enzo [Fernandez]. "We have to find another player with different qualities because we don't

have a player like Cole - he is unique. " On who else is unavailable: "We have Levi [Colwill] and Liam [Delap], still out. "Benoit [Badiashile] is out until December, it is a muscular problem. He was doing fantastic and showing

why we need him, but we wait for him. "Moises [Caicedo], Enzo, Pedro [Neto], we will see if they

can train today otherwise they will be out tomorrow. [Reece James] is fully fit. " Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Chelsea Cole Palmer has played just four games for Chelsea this season. Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Chelsea Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca gave the latest update on injured Cole Palmer: "I was wrong [about him returning before the international break]. "Unfortunately he needs to be out for six more weeks. This is the update. " Does he still not need surgery? : "Yes. We try to protect Cole as

much as we can. It is important when he comes back he is fully fit. " Confident the extra rest will help? : "Yeah, but the medical staff are

not magicians. You need six weeks and we hope six week will be enough. A problem we need

to see step by step, week by week. On how he is feeling: "He looks very good. Relaxed. Trying

to recover. " Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Chelsea forward Cole Palmer was originally expected to be out of action until November because of a persistent groin injury. He still doesn't need surgery but it appears to be a tricky injury to get over. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.