da esport bet： Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is poised to be without a key man for their upcoming Champions League clash against Barcelona, with the Italian facing a selection headache.
da betsson： Maresca has already been forced into 93 first team rotations this season, the highest number of any team in the Premier League, and it is safe to say his squad depth has been stretched to the bare bones at times.
There were major worries surrounding fitness repercussions after Chelsea’s involvement in the Club World Cup last summer, which saw them play a grand total of 65 matches in a 53-week season.
This was an unprecedented number of matches for the Blues, with Chelsea also reaching the Conference League final beforehand and going on to win Europe’s third-tier tournament.
While they became the first club in history to win all five UEFA club competitions, and took home north of £80 million in prize money from the CWC, their extensive schedule appears to be having a dire effect on the players.
So far, Chelsea have lost Levi Colwill, Cole Palmer, Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernández, Pedro Neto, Dario Essugo, Liam Delap, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah, Andrey Santos and Josh Acheampong to injury or suspension at various points this season, and a few absences have been seriously felt.
This all being said, Maresca deserves praise for navigating this storm of injuries and guiding Chelsea to third in the Premier League table, where they’re just six points off league leaders Arsenal and could be considered outside contenders for the title this season.
One player they will be very eager to welcome back at the earliest opportunity is superstar forward Palmer, who’s been battling a niggling groin injury all campaign.
The England international hasn’t featured at all since he limped off in a 2-1 defeat at Man United nearly two months ago, with Maresca stating back in mid-October that he’d be out for another six weeks.
Optimism then followed that he could actually be back and ready to start against Barcelona next week, but according to journalist Simon Phillips, hopes of a return against the La Liga champions have all but diminished.
Chelsea star Cole Palmer now likely to miss Barcelona through injury
According to Phillips, via his Substack, Palmer is now likely to miss Chelsea’s clash with Barça, and a more realistic timeframe for his return could be their London derby at home to Arsenal at the end of this month.
The 23-year-old has been cut and above their superstar man since joining from Man City for what now feels like an absolute bargain fee.
Gus Poyet and others have even tipped Palmer for an eventual Ballon d’Or, highlighting his meteoric rise since leaving Eastlands.
Palmer spearheaded Chelsea to a double (CWC and Conference League) and Champions League qualification with 18 goals and 14 assists in 52 appearances for the west Londoners last season, and once he returns, the forward will provide Maresca with an almighty boost.
However, it appears they could now have to cope without him for one of their biggest games of the season so far against Hansi Flick’s Spanish giants.