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Palmer injury boost, Dewsbury-Hall focus - Four things spotted in Chelsea training for Leicester

Cole Palmer in action for Chelsea
-Credit: (Image: (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images))


Enzo Maresca has had the privilege of working with a number of key Chelsea stars over the November international break. The likes of Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku have all departed Cobham though Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto are just a few to have stayed behind.

The Blues have won just once in their last four games in all competitions, and despite that victory coming in Europe, they sit third in the Premier League table on 19 points. Injury issues have largely been avoided by Chelsea and Maresca, however a number of recent concerns have come to light.

Palmer, Colwill, Gusto and Wesley Fofana all departed their respective national team camps last week because of minor issues with Jadon Sancho also recovering from a number of problems. The majority of those concerns have been eased already though, judging by the images coming out from Chelsea's latest training session.

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With that being said, football.london has pulled together all the important talking points that will have been sparked from the images taken at Cobham on Monday.

Palmer injury boost

Though it was considered likely he started against Leicester City, Chelsea have still been handed a big Cole Palmer injury boost. After playing the full 90 minutes against Arsenal, Palmer pulled out of England duty for Nations League fixtures against Greece and Ireland.

However, any worries over a potential injury have been alleviated by the fact he has been spotted back in Chelsea team training at Cobham. He appeared to pick up a knee issue against Manchester United earlier in the month but any sign of an absence for Chelsea because of it looks unlikely.

Dewsbury-Hall focus

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has already made his thoughts on Maresca clear before returning to Leicester with Chelsea. “When it came about, I was very happy because it meant I could work under him again and continue to evolve. It was perfect for me," he said in the summer.

"I'm a completely different player now coming back into the Premier League than when I was playing in it before. I've evolved, as a player and as a person. I've had the experiences of winning, of dominating games, and understanding football on a different level to what I did before."

The 26-year-old has likely been able to work with Maresca much closer recently in an attempt to impress and his demeanour in training showed clear focus. Wearing an orange bib and a determined look on his face, he has been captured jumping as part of a warm up with exercise dummies in the background.

Colwill and Sancho update

Like Palmer, Levi Colwill and Jadon Sancho have handed Maresca two big injury boosts. The latter has missed the last four weeks because of illness and a knock, while Colwill surprisingly joined Palmer as an England withdrawal.

It was unclear exactly why Colwill returned from St George's Park but it has become clear that no major issues is prominent as he featured in Monday's training session The defender playing against Leicester, based on this update, is now very likely but it is not a guarantee for Sancho.

The Manchester United loanee has missed a fairly significant period and could therefore be eased back into action ahead of the busy festive schedule having just made his training comeback.