The two players who could replace Cole Palmer against Spurs if worrying injury rumours are true | OneFootball

This especially elongated international break has been extra painful for Chelsea fans, but has at least had one positive – more time for injured players to recover.

Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson have been missing for some time, and Cole Palmer was the latest to join them on the side-lines. The last time we heard from Enzo Maresca, all were expected to be back for our game against Tottenham next Thursday.

The very worrying news for Blues fans last night, however, was that Palmer has yet to train with the first team. The Daily Mail’s exclusive last night claimed he faced a “race against time” to be fit for the game against Spurs. What appeared to be a minor muscle issue started to sound more serious when our writer Simon Phillips revealed that Palmer had gone for a second scan.

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Injured Cole Palmer on the ground. (Photo by Chris Lee/Chelsea FC)

So what will the Blues do if Palmer isn’t ready? And we have to say, it is trending in that direction now.

It will be a huge loss, but the return of Madueke and Jackson should soften the blow significantly. If both are fit to start the game (which is by no means a given, considering how long they’ve been out), we will likely see Pedro Neto move back from playing as a striker to the wing, with Madueke deployed on the other side and Jackson up top.

That would allow Christopher Nkunku to play in his preferred position behind the striker in Palmer’s place. The alternative would be using Enzo Fernandez in that role, with the also freshly returned Romeo Lavia taking his place in the double pivot.

Nkunku has looked so out of sorts and so disinterested that we would probably go with the latter, especially given it’s a derby game.