No Plans For Palmer’s Surgery – Maresca

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that there is no plan for Cole Palmer to undergo surgery following his battle with a groin injury.

Palmer has struggled with a groin injury this season which forced him off in the 21st minute of the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.

The English forward has made just two starts in the Premier League this season, and Maresca has confirmed that surgery is out of the question for him.

Maresca said: “The medical staff didn’t mention to me about surgery.

“I don’t know if in the next days or the next weeks, but I don’t think so, to be honest.

“He made a huge effort on Saturday to try to play the game. He did the test, and he was OK, but not 100 percent. But he wanted to be there to help his teammates and to be there in that kind of game.

“Unfortunately, it was painful, so we decided to change it. And it’s more day-by-day, week-by-week, game-by-game to see how it is and then decide what we do.”

Palmer is expected to miss Chelsea’s League Cup clash against Lincoln City on Tuesday.

The Italian manager also confirmed that Romeo Lavia, and Benoit Badiashile are out of the encounter.

Maresca said: No, no, they are not back for this game, unfortunately. They both took part in the session yesterday. That is good news.

“Hopefully, they can be available very soon, but they are not available for tomorrow. Again, Cole is the one. Then we have some players with small problems from a long time, like Moi [Caicedo], like Joao, that they are trying to manage a little bit themselves. But then the rest, they are okay.

Maresca is expected to make changes to the side that lost to Manchester United with a host of academy players expected to feature in the game.