Chelsea sweating over Cole Palmer injury ahead of Tottenham clash | OneFootball

Chelsea's talismanic playmaker Cole Palmer did not train at all during the international break, a report has claimed, causing concern that he could miss the club's upcoming London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

Palmer sat out Chelsea's grim 1-0 defeat to Arsenal before the March international break and pulled out of England's squad for fixtures against Albania and Latvia. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca originally brushed the injury off as a "small problem" and even insisted that Palmer's spell on the sidelines "could be good" as "it gives him some rest, mentally and physically".

The Italian manager's optimism may have faded as his star player spent the international break out of action. The Daily Mail claim that Palmer did not train with his Chelsea teammates after sustaining his injury during a light session on Saturday, 15 March.

Reports state Palmer made his long-awaited return to training on Friday but, after two weeks without any serious physical conditioning, the 22-year-old's involvement in Chelsea's Premier League clash with Spurs has to be called into question.

The Blues host Tottenham in the top flight on Thursday, 3 April. Chelsea have not played consecutive Premier League matches without Palmer since his arrival from Manchester City at the end of the 2023 summer transfer window. In fact, the club's defeat to Arsenal a fortnight ago was just the second league game the durable creative force has missed.

There's better news for Nicolas Jackson (left) than Cole Palmer / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

In better news for the Blues, Nicolas Jackson was pictured back in training in recent days. The team's second-top scorer (behind Palmer) has been sidelined for the best part of two months with a severe hamstring injury. During this run of eight games without a recognised centre-forward, Chelsea have only avoided defeat Conference League opponents FC Copenhagen and relegation candidates Leicester City and Southampton.

Maresca pinpointed the visit of Spurs as Jackson's most likely return date. Noni Madueke was also expected to be fit again for that capital clash and, like Palmer, made his return to training on Friday. Spanish striker Marc Guiu remains sidelined.

This spate of attacking injuries has undoubtedly contributed to Chelsea's noticeable dip in form. In an attempt to avoid a repeat of this personnel crisis, the west London club are said to be eyeing several forwards in the summer transfer window, with Juventus' Kenan Yildiz one figure which has consistently been floated.