Reason why Enzo Maresca unnoticed Cole Palmer for Chelsea’s key conflict with Arsenal

Cole Palmer was left out of the Chelsea squad to face Arsenal in the Premier League with Enzo Maresca and the club’s medical staff fearing a potential injury issue could be made worse

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca made the tactical decision to sideline Cole Palmer for the Arsenal clash, aiming to shield his key player from further woes.

The England ace has been battling an illness this week and only managed a half in Thursday’s Europa League triumph against Copenhagen.

Although he’s shaken off that bug, it’s left him a bit under the weather, especially with a niggling hamstring concern that’s had the club’s medics on high alert after a worrying moment in Saturday’s training.

With the risk of aggravating his injury at the Emirates too great, Maresca and the medical team weren’t willing to gamble with Palmer’s fitness.

Quizzed about Palmer’s condition before the match, Maresca revealed: “Last week, as we know, he had some problem and unfortunately, yesterday he had a very small problem and we think that probably after the international break he will be ready to be back with us.

“He had an injury yesterday during the session. It was a very light session and that’s why we think it’s nothing important. We still need to wait and we hope he can be back after the international break.”, reports the Mirror.

This snag puts Palmer – who’s currently on his longest dry spell for Chelsea, having not scored in 10 matches – in doubt for England’s forthcoming fixtures with new manager Thomas Tuchel at the helm.

With Palmer sidelined and starting striker Nicolas Jackson still out, Maresca once again went for a dynamic attacking trio, giving the green light to Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho, and Christopher Nkunku up front.

Intriguingly, as he had hinted earlier in the week, Maresca made a switch between the sticks for the North London clash. Robert Sanchez reclaimed his spot in the starting lineup, with Filip Jorgensen, who was in goal against Copenhagen, making way.

“Yes, it will be Robert playing against Arsenal,” Maresca confirmed in his pre-match presser. “I’ve said many times we are happy with both goalkeepers. But sometimes, you have to be flexible.

“Since we started, the idea wasn’t to change the goalkeeper but you have to be flexible; we do this with the game plan, the way we want to attack and defend, but we also have to be flexible with players [changing the personnel].”

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