Maresca: The team doctor mentioned that Palmer may have surgery, but I don t think it s a coincidence.

 5:38pm, 22 September 2025
At 2:45 am on September 24, in the third round of the League Cup, Chelsea will play away against Lincoln City. Before the game, Chelsea coach Maresca attended the press conference and talked about some of the current situation of the team.

About the team's injury situation

- Palmer is probably the only player we need to evaluate, and the other players are no problem and are recovering from last weekend.

About Palmer

- Last Saturday, he made a huge effort to participate in the game. He tried on Saturday morning, but his form was not 100%, but he hoped to play and help his teammates. He still felt the pain, so we decided to change people. We will observe his situation every day and then decide on the next move.

Signs of fatigue?

- The game became difficult because of the red card, and when both of us were 10 players, our possession rate was almost 70%. I hope there will be no situation in the future where one person is missing in the first three or four minutes, which is really difficult.

Criticism about Carragher's criticism of goalkeepers and defenses

—I think anyone can say what they want to say, it's not a problem. I think we've improved a lot last season. For example, if you look at last year’s standings, we’ve closed the gap. We will continue to work hard to improve. This is our main goal this season.

Let's talk about Palmer's physical condition

-The medical team didn't mention the surgery to me until today, and I don't know if this will take place in the next few weeks, but frankly, I don't think so.

About Ravia and Badiacile

-They have not returned yet, they attended training yesterday, which is good news, but we need to wait.

Regarding the team's injury issue

- We need to deal with a situation like this, if there is a minor problem with Kesaido and Ravia or Essugo is in a healthy state, then we can give Kesaido a break, but now they are all injured. I don't think our current injury situation is accidental.

About using youth training players

- This is the game that worries me the most, because in such a game, you are prone to making mistakes. There are always games like this in football, so I'm worried about it.