Mauricio Pochettino gives mixed Chelsea injury update ahead of Aston Villa game
Palmer was a notable absentee from the 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday, the joint-top goalscorer in the Premier League missing through illness.
However, the England international is said to have returned to training on Thursday, Pochettino confirming at a press conference that the playmaker is in line to feature at Villa Park.
Speaking to reporters, Pochettino said: «Cole was training well in the last few days and we assume that he is going to be ready for tomorrow, and be a part of the squad.»
Not all positive news for Chelsea...While that is a notable plus for Chelsea, the West Londoners revealed on Friday that as many as 12 players could be unavailable for the important clash in the top flight.
Reece James and Levi Colwill — who have been absent since December and the start of March respectively — are said to have returned to partial training.
In the case of James, that is particularly good news after undergoing hamstring surgery, but Pochettino ruled out the pair for the next match.
The Argentine added: «No, they are not available yet. They are close. Yesterday, they were doing some partial training with the squad, but still, they are not available.»
Furthermore, Carney Chukwuemeka and Raheem Sterling are each «undergoing medical assessment» and appear to be huge doubts to feature in the squad.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu and forward Christopher Nkunku are all participating in partial training, yet may be kept sidelined for the weekend.
Pochettino comments on Fernandez operationOn Thursday night, Chelsea confirmed that Enzo Fernandez would miss
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