Cole Palmer was withdrawn from Chelsea’s starting lineup against West Ham as a precautionary measure after experiencing discomfort in his groin during the pre-match warm-up at the London Stadium.
- Man Utd make move to sign “dominant” Chelsea star in Garnacho swap
- Mikel Arteta told Arsenal players don’t ‘trust’ team-mate ahead of Leeds game
Despite the setback, Chelsea overturned an early deficit to secure a commanding 5-1 win over the Hammers. ..Continue Reading
Goals from Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, and Trevoh Chalobah cancelled out Lucas Paqueta’s stunning opener.
Palmer’s unexpected exit slightly overshadowed the dominant performance, and it’s still unclear how long the Blues will be without one of their key attacking talents.
The 23-year-old forward was likely eager to make an impact after a subdued showing in Chelsea’s goalless draw with Crystal Palace the previous weekend.
Although Palmer was initially listed in Enzo Maresca’s starting XI for the London derby, concern grew when he was seen limping off the pitch with a member of the medical team just before kickoff.
Shortly afterward, it was confirmed that Estevao would take Palmer’s place in the lineup.
The 18-year-old Brazilian was handed his first Premier League start, having made his debut as a substitute against Palace, replacing Jamie Gittens in the 54th minute.
While the reason for Palmer’s absence wasn’t immediately clear, Maresca later explained in his post-match comments that the England international had been dealing with fitness issues for several days leading up to the match.
‘Cole, in the last four or five days, he was not 100 per cent,’ the Chelsea head coach told reporters.
‘Today, he tried in the warm-up but he felt something so we preferred to not take any risks. ‘We will see in the next hours if it’s something important or not.’
However, Maresca applauded Palmer for making a ‘big effort’ to try and get himself fit despite feeling discomfort in his groin.
‘It was already in the Palace game that he was not 100 per cent,’ the Italian added.
‘But he’s trying to make a big effort for the club, for the team, for the fans because he’s really keen about the team.
‘Tonight, again, he tried again but it was not very good.’
Speaking to Sky Sports shortly after the final whistle, Marc Cucurella conceded the sudden loss of Palmer made life a little more ‘difficult’ for Chelsea.
‘It was difficult because we practice one thing and at the end we need to change very fast,’ the Spaniard said.
‘But I think Estevao, in this case, played an amazing game. ‘I think it’s very important because we have a good squad, all of us, we are ready at any time and we are very happy because we showed we have a good team.’
On Palmer’s replacement Estevao, Cucurella added: ‘I think he’s young but he showed that he’s very mature.
‘He made very good decisions and all the new players, all the new signings came here to help the team, to bring something good, good energy, good talent.
‘I think we have an amazing squad, so I hope we can do good things this season.’