Manager Enzo Maresca revealed the reason behind Cole Palmer’s substitution during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford against Manchester United after just 20 minutes of play. Palmer suffered a recurrence of the groin injury that has plagued his season. The 23-year-old forward was also unable to feature in Chelsea’s Premier League matches against West Ham and Fulham, it was noted. He had likewise missed England’s two World Cup qualifying games earlier this month against Andorra and Serbia, clearly not being at 100% fitness.
After the loss to United, Maresca explained: “He (Palmer) tried this morning. He took a test this morning to see if he could play, but he wasn’t at 100%. He made an extraordinary effort to take part in the match, but he wasn’t fully fit.
“It’s been an ongoing issue with his groin. Once again, he took a test this morning. He wanted to play this match for the team, to be with them. He made a huge effort. And after twenty minutes, he started to feel something, so we decided to take him off.”
Back at Chelsea, Palmer had come on as a second-half substitute in the 2-2 draw against Brentford during the international break on September 13, and then started and scored in Chelsea’s 3-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern on Wednesday. According to a report, the player had “barely trained” in the week leading up to the trip to Manchester United.
Chelsea will look to bounce back from their loss to United when they travel to Lincoln City on Tuesday for the third round of the Carabao Cup. Maresca’s men have endured a poor start to the 2025–26 season, with only two wins in their first six matches across all competitions.
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