Striker Cole Palmer was 'very close' to returning to the Chelsea squad after an absence of two months, but he suffered a broken toe at home, which will keep him off the pitch for at least another two weeks, according to his Italian manager Enzo Maresca. Maresca explained: 'Unfortunately, he had an accident at home', noting that Palmer (23) broke his toe in the incident. 'It's not a serious injury, but he won't be back next week,' the manager added. Palmer will miss the matches against Burnley and Arsenal in the league, as well as the difficult home match against Barcelona in the Champions League. Palmer's last appearance was on September 20 against Manchester United, where he was forced off after just 20 minutes due to a thigh injury. Chelsea currently sit third in the table with 20 points, six points behind leaders Arsenal, who host their north London rivals Tottenham tomorrow. In the Champions League, 'The Blues' lost their first match to German Bayern Munich 1-3, before regaining their balance with wins over Portuguese Benfica 1-0 and Dutch Ajax 5-1, before drawing with Azerbaijani Karabakh 2-2.
