Cole Palmer's absence has certainly been felt by Chelsea this season. They have missed having a player who can decide games on his own. Admittedly, the Blues have been successful in finding some form lately but we still do not know how well they will perform when up against the very best teams, like Barcelona and Arsenal.
There were hopes that Palmer would be back for those games. Chelsea's next game is against Burnley before they take on Barcelona and then Arsenal.
There had been suggestions that Palmer could be reintroduced into the squad against Burnley. But the main aim was to get him ready in time to face Barcelona in the highly important Champions League game, with Chelsea needing some points after managing just seven from the first four matches. Even more worryingly, their two wins have come against Ajax and Benfica, who sit at the bottom and second-bottom respectively.
So, fans would feel a lot more confident if Palmer were to be available against Barca. But unfortunately, now it looks like that game is going to come a bit too early for him and earlier reports might have been off the mark. As reported by The Chelsea Chronicle, Simon Phillips wrote on his Substack:
"Chelsea’s plan for Cole Palmer was to get him 30 minutes in the Burnley game in a view to starting him against Barcelona in the Champions League next week.
“However, SPTC Sources have informed us that those games are just ‘arriving too soon’ for Palmer – at least that is the latest forecast.
“Palmer is now NOT expected to be involved against Burnley, and even the Barcelona game might be too soon for him.
“He’s not yet returned to group training and realistically, it could the Arsenal or the Leeds game/s where we see him back in a squad for the first time."
Chelsea handed new Cole Palmer blow just when return looked close
That is not the update that Chelsea fans would have wanted heading into such an important period for the club. The results over these coming weeks could very well make or break their season, both in Europe and domestically. They need Palmer to be available for matchups of this magnitude.
That being said, the most important thing is for Palmer to return to full fitness. If he needs a few more weeks to be ready to get back to the pitch, he must be afforded that time.
The last thing Chelsea need to do here is rush him back into the team and risk another injury. One could argue that is what they did earlier in the season, playing him thrice in a week immediately after returning from injury, which led to him picking up another one. That must be avoided at all costs.