Cole Palmer shares Chelsea message amid injury absence as return timeline clear

Chelseastar Cole Palmer is continuing his rehabilitation from a groin injury which has stagnated his 2025/26 season. The forward has played just four games for Enzo Maresca's side with the problem occurring twice already this campaign.

Palmer suffered the issue before the 5-1 win over West Ham United in August after being forced to pull out of the starting XI for the London Stadium clash. He missed the victory over Fulham before returning to action after the September international break.

After scoring in the draw with Brentford and the defeat to Bayern Munich, Palmer played just 21 minutes in the 2-1 loss at Manchester United. The 23-year-old has not played since his brief return aggravated the same issue.

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Palmer has missed nine matches across all competitions, and last month, Maresca revealed the England international would miss an additional six weeks. "Unfortunately, he needs to be out for probably six more weeks," he said on October 17.

"We try to protect Cole as much as we can, and the most important thing is that when he comes back, he is fully fit. We hope the six weeks will be enough, but it's a problem that we need to look at step by step, week by week, but for sure he is going to be okay."

After celebratingChelsea's win over Tottenham on social media over the weekend, Palmer took to Instagram on Monday to provide a brief update on his recovery. Posting eight images, including one of him inside the gym, he wrote: "whatever the 5th pic says".

The fifth image of the post includes text on a whiteboard which reads: "No one give a f***. Work harder." The message follows an update from injury expert Ben Dinnery on Palmer's recovery.

Speaking to football.london, via Escapist Magazine, Dinnery shed light on Palmer's recovery ahead of the winter schedule: "It's sometimes not until the last stage, particularly if you're talking around a loading issue, where you could be fine for three, four or five days, and then all of a sudden, you just feel a little bit of intensity as you increase that intensity and increase that load.

"Ultimately, there's nothing fixed in terms of timeframe. I think we're looking at post-international break. We're coming up to a busy period in and around Christmas, and it's one of those ones where you could see Cole Palmer managed in terms of his minutes.

"Again, the factors around that could be how Chelsea are performing, and probably until last weekend, you would have said they're doing alright until that home defeat to Sunderland.

"They'll have an idea and understanding that when Cole Palmer does return, they want him fit and available not just for two, three, four or five games, but for the festive period to January and beyond through the remainder of the season."