Cole Palmer has been included in Chelsea's UEFA Conference League squad for the knockout stages and potentially beyond, football.london understands.

Palmer was left out of the squad for the Blues' league phase due to load management as the west Londoners cruised through to the Round of 16 in dominant style. Enzo Maresca's side achieved a maximum 18 points over the course of the six games. Chelsea ended the league phase campaign - in the newly-formatted Conference League - by scoring 26 goals and conceding just five in the process.

"We played some games without Cole, but Cole is something extra that you need," Maresca said back in October on his decision to leave Palmer out of the Conference League squad for the league phase games. "We also need to think a bit to protect some players. They need that. There is a reason behind it and I think Cole needs to be protected."

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Also added to the squad list for the knockout stages are Trevoh Chalobah, who was recalled from his loan at Crystal Palace last month, and Mathis Amougou, who was signed from Saint-Etienne for around £12million earlier in the week. Chalobah has made three appearances since returning to Stamford Bridge, while Amougou will be hoping for his first taste of English football on Saturday evening as Chelsea travel to Brighton in the FA Cup.

Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia have not been included in the squad. Fofana has been sidelined since the start of December through a hamstring injury and while his recovery is going well, football.london understands, there is no clear timeframe on when he will return. Lavia has been absent since last month with a muscular problem.

Chelsea will take on one of either Gent, Real Betis, Copenhagen or Heidenheim in the next round of the competition. As a seeded team, the Blues will play the away in the first-leg on March 6 and will then welcome back their opponents on March 13 at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea already played two of those teams in the league phase of the competition. The Blues welcomed Gent to Stamford Bridge in matchday one back in October, beating the Belgians 4-2 and travelled to Germany the following month and beat Heidenheim 2-0.