Liam Rosenior, the Chelsea head coach, has provided an update on Cole Palmer's fitness amidst concerns about a widespread illness affecting the squad. Ahead of Chelsea's recent EFL Cup semi-final match against Arsenal, Rosenior addressed Palmer's absence, along with other players who were also sidelined due to injury or illness.

Palmer has been experiencing a "minor" thigh strain. Rosenior revealed that Palmer's thigh injury is new and not related to his previous groin issue. Due to the minor strain, Palmer missed the match against Arsenal in the English League Cup semifinals. His availability is being closely monitored before Chelsea's upcoming Premier League game at home against Brentford on Saturday.

Rosenior emphasized the importance of not rushing Palmer back into action, stating, "The game came too early for him, hopefully he'll be available to train on Friday and be ready for us to play on Saturday". He further explained the risk of aggravating the injury, saying, "If you play a player too early, in January, with a minor strain, it can turn into six weeks. I can't afford to lose Cole Palmer for six weeks because he's that good".

Rosenior suggested he would rather err on the side of caution regarding Palmer's fitness. He highlighted the congested fixture schedule, with eight games in four weeks, making it "crazy" to risk any player's health at this stage of the season. Rosenior said he had in-depth conversations with Palmer and the medical team, emphasizing that risking a player's health in January would be unwise, considering the ambition to remain strong until the end of the season.

In addition to Palmer's injury, Rosenior also addressed the illness affecting other players in the squad. Reece James was absent due to a significant hip injury, while Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, and Malo Gusto were all suffering from illness. Rosenior noted that Gittens and Gusto had dangerously high temperatures, and he wanted to keep them away from the group to prevent the illness from spreading. Moises Caicedo was also unavailable due to suspension.

Despite these setbacks, Rosenior expressed optimism that most of the affected players would be ready to play against Brentford this weekend. However, he indicated that Palmer's availability was the most uncertain, as he would have at best one day of training before the game.