Enzo Maresca delivers worrying Cole Palmer update after Chelsea loss to Manchester United

Cole Palmer underwent a fitness test hours before Chelsea’s loss against Manchester United and was not 100% fit, reveals Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has revealed that Cole Palmer was not 100% fit ahead of their loss to Manchester United. The Englishman still opted to play before coming off injured in the 20th minute for Andrey Santos.

Speaking to the media after the game, Maresca said he was proud of Palmer’s commitment to play, adding that the club’s medical staff had done everything possible to get him back to full fitness. He said on NBC Sports:

“Cole [Palmer] this morning did a test to play this game. He was not 100%. It was a fantastic effort for the club, for his team-mates, for the team. Unfortunately, he was not 100%.

“It’s a problem for a long time for him, his groin. He wanted to play this game, so the effort is huge but after 20 minutes, he decided it was too much.”

Chelsea were down to 10 men after Robert Sanchez got sent off in the third minute, and also 1-0 down to Manchester United after Bruno Fernandes scored. Maresca had already made two changes, with Estevao Willian taken off for Filip Jorgensen and Tosin Adarabioyo coming on for Pedro Neto.

Casemiro scored in the first half, but got sent off just deep into injury time to make it 10 vs 10 for the second half. Trevoh Chalobah scored in the 79th minute, but that failed to spark a comeback from Chelsea, who are now without a win in three games in all competitions.