Enzo Maresca drops Cole Palmer injury update amid huge concerns vs Man United
Enzo Maresca has cleared up the situation involving Cole Palmer after Chelsea fans feared the worst against Man United.
Palmer was substituted after just 21 minutes against the Red Devils on Saturday, 20 September, a move from the manager which stunned everyone at Old Trafford despite the Blues going down to 10 men.
Robert Sanchez was given his marching orders after taking out Bryan Mbeumo, but it was Estevao and Pedro Neto who were sacrificed by Maresca moments after the goalkeeper’s demise.
The Blues would have still been hopeful of creating chances through Palmer, even after going down to 10 men, but that was quickly taken away as their danger man was replaced by Andrey Santos.
Now, the manager has addressed fans’ concerns after full-time of their 2-1 loss at Old Trafford.
Cole Palmer was not fully fit ahead of the Man United clash
Fans expected the worst, with Palmer only just returning to the pitch as a substitute during the 2-2 draw against Brentford on Saturday, 13 September, before playing the full 90 minutes against Bayern Munich.
Speaking to the media, Maresca said, “Cole, this morning, did a test to play this game. He was not 100%. It was a fantastic effort for the club, for his team-mates, for the team. Unfortunately, he was not 100%.”
Many might wonder why the manager risked him in the first place, but the England international would have been eager to make an impact, having scored a hat-trick in a previous meeting between the teams.
That decision looks to have backfired after the player hobbled off the pitch as he felt his leg, and it is even more unlikely now that he will be available to face Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup next week.
Palmer continues to play with an injury since the Club World Cup
Simon Phillips, a Chelsea supporter and fan journalist, revealed on <a href="http://<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just so everyone knows, Cole Palmer has been injured since before the CWC. They’ve been giving him pain injections to play. Nothing bad showed up on the scans but he’s had continuous discomfort in his groin and it’s not gone away. Make of it as you will.</p>— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) <a href="https://twitter.com/siphillipssport/status/1969448527794167810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8">X (20 September) that the player has been fighting through the pain, taking injections in order to play for the Blues.
Palmer continues to feel discomfort in his groin, but with nothing showing on his scans, Maresca has clearly been comfortable enough to put him into the starting lineup.
With 40 goals and 26 assists over the last two seasons, it is clear why so many are desperate for him to return to his very best, but that cannot happen unless he is given time to relax and recover.
Luckily, Lincoln City are up next for the Blues. That should be the perfect opportunity for Maresca to rest a few important stars and utilise some of the lesser-used players in the squad.