Liam Rosenior explains why Cole Palmer missed Chelsea's trip to Crystal Palace & responds to transfer speculation around 'homesick' talisman

Palmer has endured an injury-interrupted campaign for Chelsea that has limited him to just 10 Premier League starts to date. The England international sat out the midweek win over Pafos in the Champions League due to a "tiny" injury but had been expected to return against Crystal Palace. However, Palmer was once again missing from the squad as Chelsea beat the Eagles 3-1 to move above Liverpool and into fourth place in the Premier League.

Rosenior told Sky Sports why Palmer had missed the match, saying: "Unfortunately for us, Cole’s not quite right for this one. I’ve said before in press conferences we want to make sure that every player is 100 per cent. There’s no use risking players in January for what we want to achieve. He’s got a little niggle in his thigh, he’s not quite 100 per cent, but he’s got a chance for Wednesday, hopefully he’s back for then."

Chelsea coped well without Palmer in a comfortable win thanks to goals from Estevao Willian, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez. Pedro was happy to take all three points, telling Sky Sports: "We knew this would be a tough game, they have a strong team. We knew we need to win second balls and fight the whole game. We scored three goals, conceded, but get the three points. In the first half we could have played more with the ball, and did not control the game but at half-time the gaffer told us to keep going, play with intensity and when we scored the second we could breathe a bit."

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Rosenior was also quizzed on Palmer's future at Chelsea amid reports claiming he's 'homesick' for Manchester. Recent speculation has claimed that Palmer could be tempted back to former club Manchester City if Pep Guardiola moves on in the summer. Palmer left City for Chelsea in 2023 in search of more regular game time but is reportedly unsettled in the capital and missing his friends back in Manchester. Rosenior insists he has spoken with Palmer and that he is still happy to be a Chelsea player: "I’ve had numerous conversations with Cole and he seems, and is, very, very happy to be here. He is a huge part of our long‑term plans, he’s an outstanding player. Every player goes through difficult moments in their career with injuries, but that is no indication of his quality."

Chelsea's win over Palace makes it four wins out of five for Rosenior since he took charge of the Blues following Enzo Maresca's departure, and the Chelsea boss was thrilled to see his team ease past the Eagles and above Liverpool in the table. He told BBC Match of the Day: "Very pleased. This is always a very difficult place to come. Crystal Palace are a very good team. What the players have given is outstanding. It's frustrating to not have a clean sheet in the last few minutes - I wanted three in a row and we should've got one, we were 3-0 up against 10 men."

"But there's so much good. I thought we defended from the front, we were organised and were very clinical. All credit to the lads. We can be better on the ball, especially in the first half but in terms of what I want to see from a team performance, it was a very good one."

Rosenior will be hoping that Palmer is fit enough for their next game against Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Blues head to Italy to face Antonio Conte's side sitting in eighth place in the Champions League and aiming to secure automatic qualification to the knockout stages. Chelsea are one of eight teams sitting on 13 points going into the final round of league phase fixtures and know that a victory should be enough against the defending Serie A champions.