Palmer's Chelsea return delayed by broken toe suffered in home accident

Chelsea are preparing to play Barcelona and Arsenal without him this month

Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer, who was close to a comeback from a groin injury, has fractured a toe in an accident at home that will keep him out of this month's key matches against visiting Barcelona and Arsenal, manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday.

Palmer has scored 38 Premier League goals for Chelsea since joining the club in 2023, and was key to this year's Club World Cup-winning campaign with three goals in six matches.

The England international suffered the groin injury in August but returned to action the following month with back-to-back goals against Brentford and Bayern Munich.

But Palmer was then forced off injured at Manchester United, prompting Maresca to rest him to recover, and has now stubbed the small toe on his left foot on a door during the night.

"He's probably not available for tomorrow (at Burnley) for sure, Barcelona for sure or Arsenal for sure. Unfortunately, he had an accident at home where he hit his toe. It's nothing important, but he won't be back in the next week," the chelsea boss told reporters.

"I wake up many times in the night to go to the toilet, I hit my head and leg and everything. It can happen.

"He was very close. He was back with us almost with the groin, which is very good news, but he has this small problem ...

Asked how long Palmer would be sidelined, Maresca said: "We don't know. It (the toe) is fractured. The only thing we know, he's not available for this week and next week."

FERNANDEZ AND NETO AVAILABLE

Third-placed Chelsea, who sit six points below leaders Arsenal before visiting Burnley on Saturday, are also without defender Levi Colwill and midfielders Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia due to injuries.

But Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto, who used the international break to recover from their injuries, are available for the trip to Lancashire, the manager added.

Maresca insisted that Chelsea, who have won seven of their last nine matches in all competitions, were doing well despite Palmer's absence.

"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," the Italian said.

"For any manager, it's nice when you miss a player but the team still plays in the way you want it to."

Maresca said Chelsea's focus was on the game against Burnley, who have lost their last two matches and sit 17th in the table, just above the drop zone on goal difference.

"Tomorrow, we need to use a different strategy and weapons. It will be a tough game after the international break ... away, it is always a difficult game," he said.