Chelsea ace Cole Palmer has finally opened up on the groin injury that troubled him at Chelsea last season. The Englishman played just twice between August and December last year and eventually missed out on the England World Cup squad.
After missing out on the trip to the United States with England, Palmer enjoyed an extended break this summer. He put the time to good use and looks back to his best. Palmer grabbed an assist and scored in the 3-2 win over Fulham on Monday.
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And in the wake of his impressive display, the 24-year-old has now opened up on why he struggled with the injury last season. Palmer admitted that he had never really been injured in his career before the groin problem. As such, he forced himself to play through it with the World Cup in mind.
The forward revealed that he was in a constant dilemma. Palmer thought he had to play games to stand a chance at making Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad, but he also knew he wouldn’t be able to give his best if he was on the pitch.
Palmer told Sky Sports:
“Physically I feel good, probably the best I’ve felt in ages, but I think I can [get fitter] with games and more minutes. Before my groin injury, I’d never really been injured. Well, rarely [injured]. So then I would just come back and play when I shouldn’t have played.
“Obviously the World Cup was coming up, so I was in a bit of a dilemma thinking: ‘if I don’t play I’m not going to go. But if I play then, I can’t play [properly]’.”
Palmer also added that he has recovered well now and won’t repeat the same mistakes again. He expressed a desire to remain injury-free and do the best for his team this season.
The attacker concluded:
“It was just a bit of a sticky situation. I didn’t really know how to deal with it, but it’s one of those things. I was just seeing different people, getting different ideas of why I was injured and what it was.
“Since I’ve come back I’ve been working every day to obviously stop it happening again. I just want to stay injury free, and if I’m on the pitch then I know what I can do.”
Palmer will be hoping to help Chelsea secure a return to the Champions League next season after the Blues finished 10th in the Premier League last time around.
Chelsea face Luton Town in Carabao Cup second round clash
Xabi Alonso and co. are gearing up to face third-tier club Luton Town in the second round of the Carabao Cup tonight (Thursday). Chelsea will be hoping to progress to the next round of the competition, especially after having reached the semi-finals last season.
The Premier League giants will be without Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra for the cup game against Luton. Alonso confirmed that Palmer is fit to play, but it remains to be seen if he is named in the starting line-up.
Chelsea are expected to rest a few key players with the game against Brighton & Hove Albion coming up on Sunday.
Edited by Nived Zenith
