Liam Rosenior began his run as Chelsea manager with a 5-1 win over Charlton in the FA Cup. In the process, he also became the club's first boss since Antonio Conte to be victorious on his debut. That was almost a decade ago. Of course, many will point towards the level of opposition, who are 19th in the Championship right now. But even in the recent past, we have seen the Blues struggle badly against lower league teams. Lincoln City are a great example.
Rosenior's real test will be in midweek, when his side take on Arsenal. That is always a big game, and a fixture that Chelsea have struggled in for some time now.
Chelsea will want their best players to be available for the occasion. Unfortunately, it looks like there could be some question marks over the fitness of Cole Palmer for that matchup.
Palmer has had an injury-riddled campaign so far, as he has struggled with a persistent groin issue. He was never likely to feature against Charlton tonight. But Rosenior's comment about 'tweaks or knocks' will worry the supporters.
Liam Rosenior hands Cole Palmer injury worry for Chelsea vs Arsenal
As reported by football.london, Rosenior said when asked about the absence of Palmer, Reece James and Malo Gusto in the squad:
"Malo, Cole and Reece were precautionary today. I don't want to take any risks at this stage of the season. They had minor tweaks or knocks from the Fulham game. And I didn't feel... I feel like I've got such a good squad here. I don't need to risk their health at the moment. We have a huge game on Wednesday. We have a huge game on Saturday. And I'll check the medical reports tonight and tomorrow morning and see how they are then."
Let's just hope that the issue turns out to be nothing noteworthy and all three are fit and available for the game against Arsenal. That being said, Rosenior has to be careful with the likes of James and Palmer. If there is any question mark over their fitness, it would be wise to leave them out. Missing one game, even against Arsenal, would not be the end of the world. Either picking up an injury would have long-term impact on Chelsea's campaign though.
Palmer has struggled to remain fit throughout the course of the campaign. One can only hope that he is able to put this groin issue behind him at some point in the near future. It is clearly affecting his performances on the pitch as well, as we have not seen him anywhere near his best in the ongoing campaign.
It will also be very interesting to see how Rosenior fits Palmer into his system. Many had complained that Enzo Maresca was not getting the best out of his mercurial talent, despite his electric displays in the Club World Cup final against PSG and the Conference League final against Real Betis, as he won the Man of the Match award on both occasions.