Palmer's Chelsea return delayed by broken toe suffered in home accident

LONDON :Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer, who was close to a comeback from a groin injury, has fractured a toe in an accident at home that will keep him out of this month's key matches against visiting Barcelona and Arsenal, manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday.

Palmer has scored 38 Premier League goals for Chelsea since joining the club in 2023, and was key to this year's Club World Cup-winning campaign with three goals in six matches.

The England international suffered the groin injury in August but returned to action the following month with back-to-back goals against Brentford and Bayern Munich.

But Palmer was then forced off injured at Manchester United, prompting Maresca to rest him to recover, and has now stubbed the small toe on his left foot on a door during the night.

"He's probably not available for tomorrow (at Burnley) for sure, Barcelona for sure or Arsenal for sure. Unfortunately, he had an accident at home where he hit his toe. It's nothing important, but he won't be back in the next week," the chelsea boss told reporters.

"I wake up many times in the night to go to the toilet, I hit my head and leg and everything. It can happen.

"He was very close. He was back with us almost with the groin, which is very good news, but he has this small problem ...

Asked how long Palmer would be sidelined, Maresca said: "We don't know. It (the toe) is fractured. The only thing we know, he's not available for this week and next week."

FERNANDEZ AND NETO AVAILABLE

Third-placed Chelsea, who sit six points below leaders Arsenal before visiting Burnley on Saturday, are also without defender Levi Colwill and midfielders Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia due to injuries.

But Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto, who used the international break to