Enzo Maresca has said Cole Palmer’s return for Chelsea is ‘important’ after the midfielder made his first appearance since injury at Leeds.
Chelsea lost 3-1 at Elland Road in a disappointing defeat on Wednesday night, though the return of Palmer as a substitute was a silver lining.
The 23-year-old flashed a chance just wide in a reminder of the threat he brings to the side, as he steps up his recovery from groin and toe issues.
Palmer has endured an injury-plagued start to the campaign, playing just 174 minutes of Premier League football. Maresca is hopeful that Palmer can now put his issues behind him and play an important role in Chelsea’s campaign.
“Probably it’s the only good news of the night,” said Maresca in his post-match press conference.
“I’m happy for him, he’s back, now he needs to build a little bit the physical condition and he will be important for us, for sure.
“He’s getting better, but he needs to play minutes. Last night he had more-or-less half-an-hour, hopefully we can give him more in the next game.”
Chelsea return to Premier League action when the Blues travel to Bournemouth on Saturday.
