Cole Palmer got himself back on the scoresheet at the weekend, finding the back of the net from the penalty spot against Brentford. There was no trademark 'Cold' celebration though. There was barely even a smile as his teammates celebrated around him. And unsurprisingly, that led to rumours of unhappiness at Chelsea and an eventual exit in the summer.
We do not know how accurate those are. Considering how frustrated the fans are with the club's operations, it would not be a stretch to imagine that it is the same case with the top players. On the other hand, it looks like another rumour surrounding Palmer has now been rubbished.
Palmer had gone down to the turf at the full-time whistle, having surprisingly played the entire game, merely days after it was deemed he was not even fit enough to feature against Arsenal. And this led to speculation about whether he had injured hinself again.
Palmer has been dealing with a persistent groin issue for months. That has led to multiple spells out on the sidelines and clearly impacted his game, as he looks like a shadow of the player who won Chelsea the Club World Cup final almost single-handedly in the summer. Naturally, fans are consistently worried about his fitness status and him picking up another injury.
Major Cole Palmer news drops amid fresh injury fears
As reported by The Athletic, sources speaking anonymously to the outlet say that, medically, Palmer is 100 per cent fine. But he is still working on his match fitness after such a significant spell out.
That will come as a relief to Chelsea fans. It is understandable why Palmer is not at his best, having missed so much time in what has been a stop-start season. Even earlier in the campaign, he had been showing flashes of brilliance, scoring against Brentford and Bayern Munich in back-to-back games, only to get injured again.
What Chelsea, and Palmer, need is a long-term solution to this groin issue. They cannot allow it to disrupt his career on a consistent basis moving forward. Undergoing surgery, after avoiding it for so long, certainly has helped Reece James. That is an option that should be considered with the club's number 10 as well, if his issues do not subside soon.
It would be a surprise if Palmer features again in midweek. At best, one would imagine he would be an option on the bench, if that.