Cole Palmer's injury setback is a hammer blow to Chelsea's early-season prospects - and his World Cup hopes after Thomas Tuchel's England warning

There is little doubt that this is an injury that Palmer could have avoided or that would have been less severe if it wasn't for Chelsea's run to unexpected glory at the Club World Cup in the summer, where the 23-year-old was their hero once again as he dismantled European champions Paris Saint-Germain almost singlehandedly in the final.

Despite the west Londoners often coming up against relatively weaker opposition in the U.S., Palmer clocked up more than 550 minutes in six games over the course of just under a month. It is believed that this groin problem flared up at some point during the tournament, where matches were invariably played in excruciating and physically draining heat and humidity.

After the final on July 13, the squad was afforded just three weeks off before reporting back for training in early August as part of their scaled-back warm-up plans, with Palmer playing more than 100 minutes across their two friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan on the same weekend when, evidently, he wasn't fully fit.

It's easy to forget that he was also involved in the completely misguided post-season England camp in June, too - needlessly playing in what should have been a routine win over Andorra before warming the bench against Senegal.

Chelsea legend Pat Nevin is in no doubt that the club's summer schedule is to blame for Palmer's injury woes, with the attacker previously a near ever-present for the west Londoners.

"Cole Palmer is the same as everyone, not in terms of quality, but in terms of he's one of those things called a human being," the Scot told OLBG. "The physicality of what Chelsea players have gone through, it's going to get to them and we know it's going to get them. And it's not a maybe, it's a when, not if.

"So Cole's getting a little bit of it now. Because he played all through the summer, I thought a big hit would happen around November, December time. I thought that sort of time you'd start seeing a lot of injuries and form dipping with a number of players.

"Chelsea's pre-season was two games in three days. It's bizarre, it's wrong, it's impossible."

Some blame should certainly be attributed to Maresca and perhaps the Chelsea medical staff following this latest setback, as his unwavering determination to have his key man available as often as possible has undoubtedly come at the detriment of his fitness.

Following his last-minute withdrawal before the thumping victory over West Ham on matchday two of the league season in August, apparently after painkillers failed to have the desired effect, the head coach admitted his talisman had already been playing through the pain barrier in the season opener against Crystal Palace five days prior, after which the attacker was criticised for a subdued performance in the goalless draw.

Palmer was able to rest during the September international break and started as a substitute in the first game back against Brentford, but he was called upon by Maresca with Chelsea trailing 1-0. He popped up with a vital equaliser, and scored again as he played the full 90 against Bayern Munich in the Champions League a few days later, but three run outs in a week proved to be too much as he was forced off after just 21 minutes at Manchester United the following weekend, and he hasn't played since.

It had been reported that Chelsea were hopeful of having Palmer back by early November, and Maresca had downplayed the severity of the problem, but he has now been forced to eat his words.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash with Nottingham Forest, the Italian tactician conceded: "I was wrong, unfortunately, he needs to be out for probably six more weeks. We try to protect Cole as much as we can and the most important thing is when he comes back he is fully fit.

"Unfortunately, the medical staff are not magicians, you never know that (he will definitely be fine again by then). He will probably need six weeks, we hope that six weeks is enough. It is a problem we need to see step by step, week after week. But for sure he is going to be okay."

That recovery timeline means Palmer will miss nine matches, including upcoming big games against Tottenham and Barcelona, while he faces a race against time to be fit for the showdown with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on November 30.

Perhaps more significant, though, is that Palmer won't be available to England for their final pair of World Cup qualifiers. While his absence wouldn't be particularly notable in isolation, his unavailability in November means he will have only clocked 65 minutes of action for the Three Lions in 2025. Going further back, the 23-year-old has picked up just three caps from a possible 14 since Euro 2024.

Chelsea's star man was injured for Tuchel's first camp in charge in March before returning to the squad and featuring against Andorra in June. However, he has been sidelined for the two most recent international breaks in September and October, and the German tactician has suggested that - regardless of his talent - Palmer really needs to be fit and involved to command a place in his World Cup squad, with time running out to make an impression.

"He was only in the June camp, that is concerning, of course," Tuchel said in October. "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.

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

There was a time that it was unthinkable that Palmer wouldn't be a key player for England in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but now his omission from the squad is a very real possibility with just four fixtures to come before it's decision time for Tuchel, with the manager so far intent on fostering a 'club' atmosphere by relying on a core group and happy to leave out the country's 'most talented'.

At club level, Maresca now faces the unenviable task of delivering results without his best and most important attacking player. Although his side proved they can survive in his absence in the dramatic, stoppage-time victory over champions Liverpool before the pause, the challenge will be doing so week in, week out. The Blues' early-season record of three wins, two draws and two defeats in the Premier League reflects that they really need to find some consistency, as they currently find themselves down in seventh.

Injuries are starting to bite, too, with Benoit Badiashile joining Palmer, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Levi Colwill in the treatment room. Nevin believes there is a huge task at hand for the head coach. "What it is all about is having enough of a squad and being comfortable in a position that you can rest and also you can accept, obviously suspensions but injuries as well," he said. "So Cole, he's one of the first ones, but have a look back at centre-back. Chelsea finished off the game against Liverpool with I think their sixth and seventh choice centre-halves.

"It's going to hit them. And that's going to be Enzo Maresca's biggest challenge this season. He's got a good enough squad for the top four. There's no doubt. But how you get a good enough, fit enough squad for top four? That's what we need to find out."

Indeed, Maresca has admitted that finding an alternative to Palmer is nigh-on impossible: "First of all, to replace Cole is difficult because Cole is a very important player for us and one of the best in the Premier League," he said. "But I think that the ones that we have depends on the gameplan. Against Liverpool, it was Malo Gusto, against Benfica it was Facundo (Buonanotte). For sure, we need a different solution, skills because we don’t have another player like Cole. He is unique.

"We have lost the two players that last season were main players in terms of build-up and breaking lines. Levi was the main one from behind, Cole was the main one in the middle of the pitch, but we are trying to find different solutions with the players who are available."

Delap aside, Chelsea will be relieved that they have largely avoided other attacking injuries, and Maresca will have to turn to the rest of his arsenal to try to cover for the brilliance of his injured talisman across the next nine games, with the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Estevao, Alejandro Garnacho, Buonanotte and Jamie Gittens all needing to step up and shoulder the creative burden. He will need to find the right formula quickly to avoid what many thought would be a positive season disintegrating before his eyes.