Chelsea’s Cole Palmer set to miss Barcelona and Arsenal games with toe injury

Cole Palmer is set to miss Chelsea’s games against Barcelona and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed.

The England international fractured a toe in an accident at home last week, further delaying his return from the groin injury that has kept him out since September.

It could not have come at a worse moment, with the Blues facing a stern test of their credentials against the five-time Champions League winners and current Premier League leaders.

Palmer last played during the 2-1 defeat away against Manchester United more than two months ago and has missed 12 club matches as well as the last two international windows, although both Chelsea and England have coped well in his absence.

Maresca’s side welcome Barca to west London on Tuesday looking to boost their hopes of progressing directly to the Champions League last 16, but will do so without last season’s top scorer.

“We don’t know when (Palmer will be back), but for sure it will be soon,” he said. “He’s already on the pitch. He’s already touching the ball and the feeling is good.

“We are here for tomorrow’s game then after that we’ll start to think about Arsenal.”

Asked whether Palmer could play against the Gunners on Sunday, Maresca said: “I don’t think so at the moment.”

Chelsea have won six of their last seven in the league to emerge as the nearest challengers to Mikel Arteta’s side.

In Europe, however, results have been sketchier, with the draw away to Qarabag earlier in November having hampered their ambitions of finishing in the top eight and bypassing February’s play-off.

“It’s a big week, but at the end of the week we have Leeds away, Bournemouth away, so that is another big week,” said Maresca. “It’s always a big week.”

Maresca has been strongly moulded in his coaching outlook by former mentor Pep Guardiola, whose Barca team were twice champions of Europe during his time in charge at the Nou Camp between 2008 and 2012.

The football played by Guardiola’s side during that period has arguably seen its influence begin to wane in recent seasons after a more than a decade in which teams all over Europe attempted to emulate their possession-based style.

“I decided to be a manager because of Pep’s Barcelona,” said Maresca. “Any team can decide the way they want to play. I chose mine years ago and it’s the way I like to watch my team play.

“I don’t think anyone can be compared to that Barca and to Pep. They changed football in Spain where every club was trying to play in that way.

“He came here and many teams tried to do something similar and also the England national team. No one can be compared to Pep because in the last 25 years he changed football.”

Maresca was asked about comparisons between Barca star Lamine Yamal and Chelsea’s fellow 18-year-old, Brazilian winger Estevao Willian.

“The most important thing for him is to enjoy his football, be happy, not think abut being better than this or that player, just be better than himself day by day,” he said.