Enzo Maresca has finally dropped the act, admitting he got it wrong regarding Cole Palmer’s recovery timeline. The Chelsea talisman, who has already sat out the last four matches, is now facing another six weeks on the sidelines as he continues to struggle with a nagging groin issue. It’s a bitter pill to swallow for the Blues faithful, especially after initial hopes that the 23-year-old would be ready to roll following the October international break.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s early kickoff against Nottingham Forest, Maresca was candid about the situation. He acknowledged the medical staff aren’t miracle workers, conceding that the initial prognosis was off. While the manager insists that surgery isn’t currently on the cards, the strategy has shifted toward a cautious, week-by-week approach to ensure Palmer returns fully fit rather than rushing him back into a fragile state. It’s a frustrating recurring theme for the player, dating back to his late withdrawal against West Ham in August and his uncomfortable exit against Manchester United shortly after his first comeback.
With Thomas Tuchel already voicing fears over the potential for the injury to turn chronic, Chelsea find themselves in a precarious spot. The upcoming schedule is unrelenting, featuring league clashes against Tottenham and Arsenal, alongside high-stakes Champions League tests against Ajax and Barcelona.
The injury room at Stamford Bridge is looking uncomfortably crowded, too. Benoit Badiashile is ruled out until December, joining an absentee list that already includes Levi Colwill and Liam Delap. To make matters worse, Maresca confirmed that Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Pedro Neto were absent from training this week, leaving them as major doubts for the trip to the City Ground.
Amidst this chaos, speculation surrounding one of those doubts, Pedro Neto, has started to heat up. While he is currently focused on navigating Chelsea’s season, reports have surfaced suggesting a potential disconnect between his current reality and his ambitions. Journalist Dave Davis, appearing on The Transfer Show, claimed that Liverpool remain on the hunt for wingers and are once again working closely with Jorge Mendes, Neto’s agent.
The chatter suggests that if an opportunity to move to Anfield were to materialize, Neto—who once flirted with a move to Merseyside while at Wolves—might jump at it. It is the kind of talk that usually gathers steam when results start to falter, though Davis himself admitted he holds some reservations about the likelihood of such a move actually materializing. For now, the narrative at Chelsea isn’t about the transfer window; it is about survival. Whether they can piece together a respectable run of form while their best creative outlet remains sidelined is the question that will define their next two months.