Cole Palmer’s panic-inducing injury scare underlines the price Chelsea may end up paying for their Club World Cup success
There is little doubt that this is an injury that Palmer could have avoided or would have been less severe if it wasn’t for Chelsea’s run to unexpected glory at the Club World Cup, where the 23-year-old was their hero once again as he dismantled European champions Paris Saint-Germain almost singlehandedly in the final. Ironically, it was a performance that led to much of the optimism around Stamford Bridge at the start of the new season, which has now been diminished in light of Palmer’s setback.
Despite the west Londoners often coming up against relatively weaker opposition in the U.S., Palmer was only rested for the clash against Morocco’s Esperance – clocking up more than 550 minutes in six games over the course of just under a month. It is believed that this groin problem flared up at some point during the tournament, where matches were invariably played in excruciating and physically draining heat and humidity.
It’s easy to forget that he was involved in the completely misguided post-season England camp in June, too, needlessly playing in what should have been a routine win over Andorra before warming the bench against Senegal.
In normal circumstances, Palmer would have had ample time in pre-season to recover, but going all the way at the Club World Cup has come at a cost. After the final on July 13, the squad was afforded just three weeks off before reporting back for training in early August as part of their scaled-back warm-up plans, with Palmer playing more than 100 minutes across their two friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan on the same weekend when, evidently, he wasn’t fully fit.
