Chelsea suffer fresh Cole Palmer blow with new return date revealed

to remain out of action until November as he continues to recover from a groin issue that has disrupted his season at Chelsea.

Palmer has featured in only two Premier League fixtures so far — the opener against Crystal Palace and a match at Manchester United last month.

His outing at Old Trafford ended prematurely after just 20 minutes, as he was forced off due to the same groin injury.

Chelsea have taken a cautious approach with Palmer’s recovery, opting to exclude him from the squad following the setback at United. As a result, he missed games against Lincoln City, Brighton, Benfica, and Liverpool leading into the October international break.

There were initial hopes he would be fit for the Nottingham Forest clash on Saturday 18 October, but after discussions between Enzo Maresca and the club’s medical team, that target has now been delayed.

According to The Athletic, Palmer is set to miss the Forest fixture, the Champions League tie against Ajax, the Premier League match versus Sunderland, and the Carabao Cup fourth-round game against Wolves.

However, the current recovery timeline suggests he could be back in time for the Tottenham match on 1 November.

So far this season, Palmer has made just four appearances, scoring twice. He found the net after coming off the bench against Brentford in mid-September and followed that up with a goal in a starting role against Bayern Munich four days later.

The groin problem has also kept him out of England duty, with only one appearance under Thomas Tuchel to date.

With the World Cup on the horizon, Tuchel acknowledged this week that the ‘concerning’ groin issue might impact Palmer’s chances of making the final squad.

‘He was only in the June camp, that’s concerning, of course,’ Tuchel said of Palmer’s fitness problems after confirming that England would also be without their captain, Kane, due to injury.

‘First of all, the most important thing is that he can play without pain because the groin issue is a very dangerous one to become chronic. This is the most important thing.

‘When he’s fit and when he has rhythm and flow, he can decide matches on club level and, for sure, at international level. We know that.

‘There is also with him no problem at all [for me]. We clearly understand and see the potential and the quality, but there is also a reality that he was not available in five of the [last] seven camps, so right now there are two camps left before the World Cup.’