Enzo Maresca has confirmed Cole Palmer will be assessed ahead of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Lincoln City, while Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia remain unavailable.
The Blues travel to the LNER Stadium looking to bounce back from their narrow 2-1 defeat at Manchester United in the Premier League. Maresca admitted Palmer is the main concern after the midfielder was forced off just 20 minutes into the game at Old Trafford.
“Cole is probably the only one that we need to assess a little bit,” Maresca said. “He already made a huge effort last Saturday to try and play the game. He tried Saturday morning, he was not 100 per cent, but he wanted to be there to help his team-mates in that kind of game. It was painful [for him], so we decided to change. We await day by day to see how he is and then decide what we do.”
Maresca also explained that long-term absentees Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro are still managing fitness issues but added that the rest of the squad are fine and recovering well.
“[Benoit and Romeo] will not be back for this game, unfortunately. They both took part in the session yesterday, which is good news, and hopefully they can be available soon,” he said.
The gaffer also suggested academy players could be handed opportunities in the squad against Lincoln. However, he warned his team must avoid complacency in cup football.
“You can sleep very easy in these kind of games. Football is full of these games. I am very worried about that, but for sure, we will have some players from the academy, like we have always done.”
The Blues will be eager to make a strong start in the Carabao Cup, with Maresca demanding focus and energy from his squad.
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