November 19th 2024.
Last week, Palmer made the decision to sit out of England duty. As Chelsea prepares to take on Leicester City in the Premier League this Saturday, there are some concerns about injuries within the team. One player to keep an eye on is Enzo Maresca, who returns to the King Power Stadium for the first time since leading the Foxes back to the Premier League last season. However, before he can focus on the upcoming match, Maresca must make some tough decisions regarding the starting lineup.
In the Premier League, Maresca has kept a fairly consistent starting XI, but he has made significant changes for European and cup games. This rotation has reportedly caused frustration for Christopher Nkunku. Additionally, two Chelsea players, Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill, had to withdraw from England duty last week due to injuries. Palmer suffered a rough tackle in the match against Manchester United, causing him to miss training leading up to the game against Arsenal. Despite playing the full 90 minutes in that match, Palmer did not seem to be in top form and left the pitch visibly uncomfortable.
Maresca is hopeful that a week off from international duty has helped Palmer recover and he was seen back in training on Monday. Colwill, who also withdrew from the England squad, was also back in action at Cobham. Another player, Romeo Lavia, was forced off the field during the match against Arsenal due to a minor injury. However, he has confirmed that it was only a "little knock" and is expected to be available for the upcoming game.
There is good news for Chelsea as well, with defender Fofana returning to training this week. Although he was selected for the Belgium squad, he did not play in their recent matches due to a hamstring injury. Maresca is expected to provide an update on Fofana's fitness during his pre-match press conference.
Malo Gusto, who was also forced off the field late in the match against Arsenal, had to withdraw from the France Under-21 squad as a result. However, he has returned to training and is expected to be available for this weekend's game. Fofana's countryman, Wesley Fofana, was also seen training this week, despite concerns about his injury. After missing over a year of action, Chelsea has been carefully managing his fitness, but seeing him back on the training pitch is a positive sign for the team.
Jadon Sancho is another player who is expected to be back in action for Chelsea. He has not played since being substituted at halftime during the match against Liverpool due to injury and illness. As for the predicted starting lineup for Chelsea, it could potentially include players such as Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Palmer, Neto, and Jackson.
If you don't want to miss a moment of the action, make sure to tune in to TNT Sports 1 or TNT Sports Ultimate, or watch the live stream on the Discovery+ app (for TNT subscribers) starting at 12:30pm on Saturday, November 23.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
