21 minutes ago, DukesOfHazard said:

Having said that, he actually said he “hopes” 6 weeks is enough. Better to forget about him until the new year and just have him phased back in for the run in.

We just need to scrape a Champions League place this season and protect the players from long term issues.

Palmer should have not played in cwc

15 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Palmer should have not played in cwc

And after that there was another chance to avoid a prolonged spell on the sidelines when Maresca alluded to an issue, and then carried on playing him.

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

Palmer should have not played in cwc

He should've absolutely played. We won it because of him. Its a price to pay but if you're in the competition, you have to deal with the consequences.

If the objective of the club is to win the Premier League, it was never going to happen this season anyway.

We should've rested him for the first few games of the season.

Edited October 17, 2025Oct 17 by KonaKai Blue

8 minutes ago, KonaKai Blue said:

He should've absolutely played. We won it because of him. Its a price to pay but if you're in the competition, you have to deal with the consequences.

If the objective of the club is to win the Premier League, it was never going to happen this season anyway.

We should've rested him for the first few games of the season.

With the same result. He had been carrying the injury for months. A few games off? Meaningless.

Wasn’t the club instructed by FIFA they had to play the best players?

Writing was on the wall last year. We knew the competition would f**k us long term.

9 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Wasn’t the club instructed by FIFA they had to play the best players?

Writing was on the wall last year. We knew the competition would f**k us long term.

Yes, FIFA demanded clubs' strongest teams with sanctions - I know not what - for miscreants.

1 hour ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Wasn’t the club instructed by FIFA they had to play the best players?

Writing was on the wall last year. We knew the competition would f**k us long term.

Probably worth it (considering the money involved + immortality of being the first to do it)

Let’s face it, Arsenal/City are miles ahead, a proper pre-season or not, and that’s without mentioning the piss poor summer transfer window, from which we’ve essentially regressed; Estevo doesn’t count, as he predates it. All in all, it is what it is.. we’re not the first team in history to have a less than ideal summer, no excuses for top 4 (especially with a January transfer window).

Was worried that we were becoming Cole Palmer FC, but after the spirited performance against Liverpool, there is hope that we can actually perform during his absence.

Then we can hope that when he returns he is in the kind of form where he takes teams apart like he did last couple of seasons.

Why is it that our players never just recover? It's always "it's not too serious" then they are like "he's out for 3 months". Then they return and get injured again. Either sports science is going backwards or we are one of the worst in the business when it comes to looking after injured players.

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

Why is it that our players never just recover? It's always "it's not too serious" then they are like "he's out for 3 months". Then they return and get injured again. Either sports science is going backwards or we are one of the worst in the business when it comes to looking after injured players.

Players too young + increased workload + lack of player mentoring (experience) + style of football + focus on tactical ideas in training rather than injury prevention (ie fitness work) + signed players with history of repeated injury

If you went through the research and identified all the risk factors, our club would tick every single box

Edited October 17, 2025Oct 17 by SydneyChelsea

17 hours ago, dermott said:

With the same result. He had been carrying the injury for months. A few games off? Meaningless.

If few games mean that his first game is 20 min cameo vs pool/Brighton then sure otherwise as you said meaningless.

Edited October 18, 2025Oct 18 by Bob stark

Madness anyone thinks he should have played CWC, that was the whole point of having a cole Palmer.. He just needs the rest of the year off, good treatment and then from next year don't play him every single game. .

We need to make sure we start doing the same with Caicedo too.

60-65 games in a season is too much for anyone.

On 17/10/2025 at 11:14, Bob stark said:

Palmer should have not played in cwc

We wouldn't have won without him, and we as World Champions wouldn't have gotten this gazillion pound shirt sponsorship deal.

Oh wait ..

Do we have a return date yet ?

Crazy how four of the most talented players in the world - Palmer, Yamal, Nico Williams and Mastantuono - all suffer from the same condition currently - pubalgia.

8 minutes ago, petre ispirescu said:

Crazy how four of the most talented players in the world - Palmer, Yamal, Nico Williams and Mastantuono - all suffer from the same condition currently - pubalgia.

What’s the cause of it, too many games?

I think years ago young players didn’t play so may games and have so much pressure to carry big teams.

48 minutes ago, El regreso said:

What’s the cause of it, too many games?

I think years ago young players didn’t play so may games and have so much pressure to carry big teams.

Enzo had it too.

I'd assume its common with younger athletes who are playing a lot whilst their bodies haven't "fully developed" yet.

47 minutes ago, El regreso said:

What’s the cause of it, too many games?

I think years ago young players didn’t play so may games and have so much pressure to carry big teams.

I don't really know, the only thing I know is that it can be a frustrating condition if not managed correctly and could turn chronic in time. By Real Madrid's comments today, I think they will manage Mastantuono's injury the same way our doctors manage Palmer's as they announced he will be out for an indefinite period. Yamal and Nico Williams have had their minutes limited for the past months, but clearly they are in pain.

I'd keep Palmer out for as much as it is needed and manage his minutes from now on. Against Qarabag, Wolves and Burnley he is not needed. Against Barcelona, I believe he is not needed either as it is still early days in the UCL and the match is not that important and against Arsenal I think a half fit Palmer won't make a huge difference. Maybe give him some minutes in this matches, but nothing more than that. I'd finally bring him back in the starting line-up by December.

Cole Palmer on FIFPRO World 11 selection: 'The best feeling'

Cole Palmer says it's the 'best feeling' to be selected in the 2025 FIFPRO Men’s World 11, which was voted on by more than 20,000 players worldwide.

Professional men's footballers from 68 countries voted for their standout players from the 2024/25 campaign, and Palmer's decisive displays for Chelsea across three different competitions saw him earn a spot in the World 11.

The England international registered 32 goal contributions – 18 goals and 14 assists – during his second campaign at Stamford Bridge. Those helped the Blues clinch a return to the Champions League through a fourth-place finish in the Premier League, and win the Conference League and Club World Cup.

The 23-year-old was crucial to those trophy successes, fashioning two goals in our 4-1 Conference League final victory over Real Betis and scoring twice and claiming an assist in our 3-0 triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final in New York.

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Palmer picked for FIFPRO XI

Congratulations to Cole Palmer, who has been selected in the 2025 FIFPRO Men’s World 11!

Palmer has become the ninth different Chelsea men's player to feature in the FIFPRO Men's World 11 since its inception in 2005.

Chelsea legends John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba are among the previous Blues included, while our last representation came through midfielders Jorginho and N’Golo Kante following our 2021 Champions League triumph.

Cole becomes the ninth Chelsea player to be selected in the FIFPro Men's World 11 since its inception in 2005

‘Being part of the FIFPro World 11 is obviously a great honour,’ Palmer said after receiving the award at our training base in Cobham.

’To be voted by the other players is a nice feeling. I think they know what it takes to play the game at a high level, so to be voted [into the World 11] by them is the best feeling.’

2025 FIFPRO Men’s World 11

Donnarumma; Hakimi, Van Dijk, Nuno Mendes; Palmer, Bellingham, Pedri, Vitinha; Yamal, Mbappe, Dembele

Started training on the pitch per Matt Law.

Loosely suggested to return against Barca, if not then ASAP after that game.

Been reported he has a broken toe. Write this season off lads

Just a joke

Realist

22 minutes ago, Chelsger said:

Just a joke

Absolutely.

Broken toe is 4 weeks if youre lucky. 6 weeks is usually the standard but could easily be 8-10 weeks.

My pessimistic prediction is back in February.

Sounds pretty careless if he broke it in the way that was reported, not exactly stepping on a Lego brick. The funny thing is, with it being a World Cup year, he’s going to get another sh*tty pre-season too, even after recovery. So probably more of this for the 2026/07 season.

Our players never just recover, they always do something else to prolong their time out.