Palmer out for three weeks to manage groin injury

Cole Palmer, a Chelsea midfielder, will be out for up to three weeks as he recovers from a persistent groin injury.

After the issue resurfaced during the shortened two-week pre-season following Chelsea’s win of the Club World Cup in July, Palmer was forced to leave in the first half of last weekend’s defeat at Manchester United.

Before the October international break, Enzo Maresca’s side square off against Benfica and Brighton in the Premier League and Jose Mourinho’s side in the Champions League.

“Yes, we made the decision to protect a little bit of Cole in order to prevent his injury from worsening,” said Maresca.

We made the decision to rest him until the following international break in order to see if he can fully recover and be in good health afterward.

Palmer missed England’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia earlier this month because he has only started three of Chelsea’s seven matches so far this season.

Five days after the Three Lions’ friendly against Wales on October 9 will take them to Latvia for a World Cup qualifying match.