Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer will miss several key fixtures following an injury setback, ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Burnley.

A win at Turf Moor could see Chelsea move into second place in the league, but Maresca opened the media session with the disappointing news about Palmer.

There had been hopes the England midfielder would feature in next week’s Champions League clash with Barcelona. However, Maresca revealed:
“He is probably not available for tomorrow, for sure; Barcelona, for sure; Arsenal, for sure. Unfortunately he had an accident at home with his toe. But it’s nothing serious. For sure, he won’t be back next week.”

The manager confirmed the nature of the injury, adding:
“We don’t know the exact timeline. It’s a fractured toe. All we know is he won’t be available this week or next.”

Explaining how the injury occurred, Maresca added some personal context:
“I wake up many times at night to go to the toilet, I hit my head and leg, and accidents happen. The last time I saw him was yesterday morning; he was without socks or flip-flops. He wasn’t limping and seemed okay, but it’s a small toe, so it can be painful.”

When asked if Chelsea can cope without their midfield playmaker, Maresca said:
“Absolutely not, I don’t think that. The team prefers it when Cole is playing, I feel much better with him on the pitch. But when he’s not, we need to find solutions. The team is doing really well. For any manager, it’s nice when a player is missing but the team still performs the way you want.”

Burnley Clash

Maresca expects a tough encounter at Turf Moor, describing the game as different from Chelsea’s pre-international break win over Wolves.
“Tomorrow will be a different game. We need to use a different strategy and weapons. It will be tough after the international break, away at 12:30, it’s always difficult.”

Axel Disasi Returns

The manager also addressed the surprise return of Axel Disasi to the senior squad. The French defender, who had been sidelined since preseason, is now training again with the first team.

“Axel and Raheem (Sterling) are Chelsea players. Axel is helping the second team and the young players. He joined a session with the second team during the break. He’s a Chelsea player and is training with the squad.”

Goalkeeper Rumours

On speculation surrounding goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen potentially leaving in January, Maresca said:
“I spoke with Filip at the beginning of the season and haven’t discussed anything recently. It’s normal for players who don’t play much to want more minutes.”