Cole Palmer sparks injury fear as Chelsea star winces and hobbles down the tunnel after coming off bench in Servette win
COLE PALMER sparked an injury scare as he quickly hobbled away following Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Servette.
The Blues‘ sub appeared to be wincing as he headed straight down the tunnel after the home Europa Conference League first-leg play-off.
Cole Palmer looked stern-faced as he quickly walked off
Chelsea hope their England star will be fit for Sunday
The England attacker only came on 58 minutes into a low-key clash.
Last season’s outstanding supplier of goals and assists had a quiet cameo.
But he did produce a spectacular long-range effort that keeper Gael Ondoua thwarted.
Christopher Nkunku had earlier won and converted Chelsea’s 50th-minute penalty opener.
Noni Madueke then smashed an impressive second goal after Palmer‘s arrival – courtesy of a scintillating pass from Enzo Fernandez.
It meant new boss Enzo Maresca followed Sunday’s 2-0 home Premier League loss to champions Manchester City in his first match with a comfortable but wasteful victory.
Now Maresca is looking to break his Prem duck – on Sunday at Wolves.
And the ex-Leicester chief is confident Palmer will be available.
He said: “Cole, he felt something but he looks fine.
GettyPalmer was only a second-half sub but still caused a worry[/caption]
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“They already checked him, he looks fine and OK.
“Hopefully there is no problem and he can be available for Sunday’s game.”
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Chelsea fans certainly hope so – after noticing Palmer’s uncomfortable exit from the pitch on Thursday night.
“Please be OK,” prayed one viewer, while other supporters questioned why Maresca brought on such a valuable player when the Blues have a huge squad.
Chelsea ratings vs Servette
CHELSEA sealed their first win under new manager Enzo Maresca as they beat Swiss minnows Servette.
Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke got the second-half goals to give the Blues a commanding lead in their Uefa Conference League play-off double header.
But it was far from convincing with Chelsea BOOED OFF at half-time.
Here’s how SunSport’s Jack Rosser rated the Blues stars…
Filip Jorgensen – 7
Made some very smart saves – especially late on as the visitors caused problems and came close to finding a goal to get back in.
Axel Disasi – 6
Kept things quiet down Chelsea’s right hand side having been started out of position at right-back. The Frenchman did not offer much going forwards but was more than solid enough defensively.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 6
An assured first start for the club since joining from Fulham on a free transfer. The defender was not caused any real problems and dominated in the air – a big reason Chelsea decided to snap him up.
Benoit Badiashile – 6
Solid enough defensively but looked awkward on the ball at times, especially when Chelsea were trying to pick a way through a solid midfield.
Renato Veiga – 5
Was given the task of moving inside from left-back and looked to struggle a lot at points, losing the ball cheaply on half way at one stage.
Moises Caicedo – 5
The midfielder was sent out in the holding role and hardly helped defensively by having Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Nkunku, a striker, ahead of him. Struggled to get a grip of midfield and dictate the game.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 7
A very encouraging full debut for the summer signing – neat and positive on the ball and created some good chances for those ahead of him.
Pedro Neto – 6
A first start for his new club and the winger made some very encouraging runs down the right hand side. Will take time to settle but looks a very good option.
Christopher Nkunku – 6
Rather fortunate to win the penalty as it looked a touch harsh but stepped up and converted well.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 4
The definition of all bark, no bite. The Ukrainian winger has pace to burn and a huge bag of tricks but neither help him make any significant impact on games.
Continuing to play like that and Raheem Sterling might have a future here after all.
Marc Guiu – 6
Missed an absolute sitter to score his first goal for Chelsea.
After working so hard through the first half, Guiu turned a tap in into a howler when putting what should have been an easy finish straight at the scrambling Servette keeper.
