Enzo Maresca has confirmed Cole Palmer was "not 100%" going into Chelsea'sdefeat to Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Blues were defeated 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, with Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro giving the home side the lead going into half-time. Robert Sanchez was sent off for Chelsea just five minutes into the contest, while Casemiro was giving his own marching orders in stoppage time.
Trevoh Chalobah did pull one back for Maresca'steam on 80 minutes but Ruben Amorim's side were able to hold on. What will be a worry for Maresca, though was the fact Palmer was taken off after just 20 minutes.
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The England international was replaced by Andrey Santos and went straight down the tunnel, before returning a short while later with an ice pack on his groin. Speaking after the game at Old Trafford, Maresca provided an update on his talisman.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Maresca said: "Cole, he tried this morning, he had a test this morning to play this game, he was not 100% fit, he made a fantastic effort to play this game, but he was not 100%."
He added: "Yeah, it's a problem that it's already a long time for him, he's growing. Again, he did this morning a test, he wanted to play this game for the team, to be close, so the effort has been huge from him, but then after 20 minutes he started to feel something, so we decided to change him."
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