The 23-year-old midfielder has been out of action since Septemer after suffering a groin injury, and Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, 45, has now confirmed Palmer won’t have recovered in time to play for The Blues after the October international break.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League game with Nottingham Forest on Saturday (10.18.25), the head coach said of Palmer’s recovery: “I was wrong. Unfortunately, he has to be out probably six more weeks. This is the update.

“We are trying just to protect Cole as much as we can and the most important thing is that when he comes back, he is fully fit.”

Palmer had picked up the injury while preparing for Chelsea’s match with West Ham in August.

When asked if doctors have discovered what is causing the issue for Palmer, Maresca said: “Yes, but the medical staff are not magicians. You never know that.

“You probably need six weeks. We hope that six weeks is enough, but it's a problem we need to see step-by-step, week after week. But, for sure, he is going to be OK.

“He looks very good. He looks relaxed. He is trying to recover from the injury. He is doing all the therapy he needs to do. He looks good.”

As well as Palmer, the manager confirmed Moises Caicedo, 23, Enzo Fernandez, 24, Benoit Badiashile, also 24, and Joao Pedro, also 24 were out for the forseeable future.

Maresca explained: “Unfortunately, Benoit will be out until December. He has a muscle problem. He was doing fantastic, he showed how good he is, he showed how we need him and we're going to wait for him.

“Then we have Moi, Enzo, Pedro who didn't take part in the session [on Thursday (10.16.25)] and we will see if they can train [on Friday (10.17.25)], otherwise they are going to be out.

“We have Levi [Colwill], Liam [Delap] who are still out. Reece [James] is fully fit.”