Enzo Maresca provides Cole Palmer injury update following early sub against Manchester United in Premier League Matchday 5

Rajarshi has been part of Khel Now since 2022, and he covers world football.

Published at :September 21, 2025 at 4:38 PM

Modified at :September 21, 2025 at 4:38 PM

The English star was replaced early on in the defeat against the Red Devils.

Enzo Maresca has revealed he decided to take off Cole Palmer because he wanted the forward to avoid any recurrence of the groin issue after Palmer didn’t look comfortable continuing on the pitch.

Only 20 minutes into the Blues’ defeat against Manchester United, the 23-year-old had to be substituted, prompting speculation that the same problem that caused the forward to miss his team’s Premier League games against Fulham and West Ham had resurfaced.

⬅️ Palmer➡️ Andrey Santos🔴 1-0 🔵 [20] #CFC | #MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/NKeMVqrksQ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 20, 2025

Maresca reveals why he substituted Cole Palmer against United

Palmer, who played against United despite being far from fully healthy, is still dealing with his groin problem, according to Chelsea manager Maresca. Palmer also missed England’s World Cup-qualifying doubleheader against Andorra and Serbia earlier this month.

Speaking after his side’s defeat against United, Maresca explained: “He (Palmer) tried this morning. He had a test this morning to play this game. He was not 100 percent fit. He made a fantastic effort to play this game, but he was not 100 percent.”

“It’s a problem that is already a long time for him, his groin. Again, he did this morning a test. He wants to play this game for the team, to be close. So the effort has been huge from him. But then, after 20 minutes, he started to feel something, so we decided to change it.”

On September 13, Palmer made his Chelsea comeback as a second-half substitute in their 2-2 draw with Brentford. Then, on Wednesday night, he started and scored in his team’s Champions League 2025-26 opening-round 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich.

But according to Simon Phillips, a journalist for Chelsea, the attacker “barely trained” in the week before the trip to United.

When Chelsea visits Lincoln City in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, they want to recover from their defeat at the hands of United. Despite winning two of their first six games across all competitions, Maresca’s team has had a faltering start to the 2025–26 season.

Did Palmer suffer another injury?

No, he was having a problem with a groin issue, which resulted in him being taken off.

Will he miss Blues’ next game?

It will depend on the extent of the ongoing injury issue.

What did Maresca say about his injury?

He revealed that Palmer had a problem in his groin and he didnt’ want to risk him picking a serious injury which is why he took him off.

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Rajarshi Shukla

After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.