Cole Palmer hints at imminent return from injury after pulling out of Chelsea squad before international break

Cole Palmer has issued a brief but very welcome fitness update on social media, saying 'soon back' alongside a series of images, including one of him standing on the pitch at Stamford Bridge. Palmer injured his groin ahead of the clash with West Ham and was taken out of the matchday squad. And boss Enzo Maresca has blamed the injury on the workload placed on players. 

Blues boss Maresca believes the volume of games is behind the glut of serious injuries. After Palmer was injured at West Ham, Maresca said: "I don't think that it is random that our three players with the most minutes last year were Levi Colwill, Cole and Moises Caicedo. It is not random, it is the amount of games. Look at Manchester City last year, they lost Rodri after two or three games. He was a player that had the most minutes for them. We are going to have problems this season for sure because of last season. But It's about how we can adapt and get players to recover."

Palmer shared a raft of images, alongside his brief 'soon back' message, which appeared to show some of his summer highlights. They included his Notting Hill Carnival appearance, in a mask hat and sunglasses, plus an image with the words: "A real flex is just being yourself in a world where people live for an image."

Palmer has the luxury of additional time during this international break to recover fitness and Chelsea are back in action with a west London derby against Brentford on September 13.