'There is no sense to it' - Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca delivers worrying update on Cole Palmer with Blues' attacking talisman still playing through pain after injury return

Speaking in a press conference, Maresca has revealed that Palmer is still feeling groin pain as the lasting effects of the injury which kept the 23-year-old out for 15 matches remain and are being managed. Palmer made his much-awaited return to action during the 3-1 defeat at Leeds in the Premier League’s midweek set of fixtures on December 3, and almost scored just eight minutes after his introduction as the Blues searched for a route back into the game.

The Blues’ No.10 was then largely nullified during the goalless draw at Bournemouth and his exclusion from the matchday squad to travel to Atalanta in midweek will have raised eyebrows. Maresca confirmed that the England man is not yet ready to play three matches a week as he returns to full fitness from the recurring groin injury, comparable to recent issues faced by Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams this season, with the trio’s injuries coming under the umbrella term of pubalgia.

Maresca said: “Yesterday he finished the session with us with a mixed feeling. Overall he was fine but still a little bit painful.

“Is it something that will have to be managed for the whole season? Hopefully not. But it is something that is a little bit day by day. You can see he’s getting better [and then] some days it can be worse. For instance. After Leeds, he was completely bad the day after and he played half an hour. After Bournemouth he was okay and he played one hour.

“There is not any sense [to it]. It’s day by day that decides how he feels.”

When asked if Palmer has joined the group of players who cannot play in every fixture, alongside the likes of Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia when fit, the Italian head coach added: “At the moment, absolutely yes.”

Maresca previously explained Palmer’s injury and Chelsea’s need to protect him back in September. Though he ultimately spent an extended period on the sidelines, it appears that the former Manchester City academy graduate is now closer to the physical condition he was in at the start of the season.

Maresca said at the time: "We need to protect Cole for sure, 100%. Not only Cole in my personal view because as I said now because of the Club World Cup or because we never stop, we need to manage and protect different players.

"The solution with Cole, I don’t know, now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him. But it’s also a kind of injury that is not like black and white. It’s an injury that someday you can be better. It’s not that you have pain and tomorrow disappear. Sometimes you can be better, sometimes you can be worse. That’s why we need to manage day by day."

Palmer is expected to feature against Everton on Saturday (3pm GMT), as the Blues hope to return to winning ways for the first time since their scintillating display in a 3-0 victory at home to Barcelona on November 25.

Whether the 23-year-old is passed fit to start in the game remains to be seen, but what has been made clear is the fact that his condition must be managed for the foreseeable future if he is to avoid seeing a renewed flare-up of his injury. With the World Cup on the horizon and Palmer having missed much of Thomas Tuchel’s reign as England manager through groin and hamstring injuries, both club and country will be hoping to see the playmaker return to his flying best sooner rather than later.