Enzo Maresca revealed that Cole Palmer was not fully fit before starting the match against Manchester United on Saturday, but praised the English forward for the “effort” made to be available at Old Trafford.
Palmer was substituted after only 20 minutes, with Chelsea already down a man due to Robert Sánchez’s red card and a goal conceded following Bruno Fernandes’ goal.
The Ruben Amorim team finally won 2-1, and Maresca later confirmed that he had taken a risk with Palmer’s physical condition.
“Cole trained this morning, he had a test this morning to play this match,” Maresca said.
Enzo Maresca
“He wasn’t 100% fit. He made a fantastic effort to play this match, but he wasn’t 100%”.
Enzo Maresca
Cole Palmer del Chelsea habla con el entrenador Enzo Maresca después de ser sustituido durante el partido de la Premier League contra el Manchester United. Alex Livesey/Getty ImagesPalmer went straight to the tunnel after being substituted and returned before the end of the first half with an ice pack on the top of his thigh.
The 23-year-old player had just returned from a groin injury.
Their start in the 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday was the first since the opening weekend of the season.
“It’s a problem he’s had for a long time, it’s the groin again,” said Maresca.
“He took a test this morning. He wanted to play this match for the team, to be close, so the effort on his part has been enormous.
But after 20 minutes he started to feel something, so we decided to change it.”
