Cole Palmer injury explained as star pulls out of West Ham vs Chelsea just before kick-off

Cole Palmer was removed from Chelsea's starting XI as a "precautionary" ahead of the Blues' Friday night clash against West Ham United. The English international was due to start for the world champions, but was replaced at the last minute by teenage wonderkid Estevao.

Sky Sports provided an update during the first half of the match, with Enzo Maresca believed to have confirmed the late change came after Palmer "felt something" during the warm-up. Maresca is said to have remained coy when pressed on the extent of the suspected injury, but it was quickly confirmed that it didn't have anything to do with illness.

Suspicions were raised at the London Stadium when the television cameras spotted Palmer leaving the warm-up early, with a member of the Chelsea backroom staff following just behind. Palmer had taken part in the full warm-up, but was visibly unhappy when he was trudging off the pitch. It was quickly confirmed that the Englishman had picked up a knock and was unable to start the match as intended.

Maresca had opened up about how the club's preparations for the new season were rocked because of their exploits at the Club World Cup. Commenting on their shortened pre-season, he explained last week: "We didn't do any physical tests. We didn't have time to do this kind of thing. There was no time! When I was a player, my pre-season was different. It was longer, 40 days, one month... So you have time to do all the tests. Do I think the players quite like it? I imagine they prefer the technical work than the running. Probably they prefer it!"

He went on to explain how Chelsea have to find ways to operate without Palmer: "Since I joined the club I said it's not fair, it's not correct to give all the pressure to Cole. When Cole struggles for one month, two months, it's important the team supports him."

Should the Palmer injury prove serious, that theory could be put to the test. Next up for the two-time European champions is the visit of Manchester United to Stamford Bridge.

The match started in the worst possible fashion for Chelsea, with Lucas Paqueta netting a stunning opener from the best part of 25 yards after just six minutes. It looked as if Chelsea's frustrations from their opening day stalemate with Crystal Palace would roll over, but they quickly equalised when Joao Pedro nodded home from close range.

Niclas Fullkrug thought he'd put West Ham back ahead moments later, but a tight VAR check ruled the goal out. However, it would be West Ham who were licking their wounds, with Maresca's men netting two quick-fire goals. Firstly through Pedro Neto, before Enzo Fernandez put Chelsea 3-1 up, with Palmer's replacement, Estevao, providing the equaliser.