Cole Palmer is set to miss Chelsea’s Champions League trip to Atalanta despite only just returning from injury, with the Blues opting for a carefully controlled recovery plan after his long spell on the sidelines. The midfielder was absent from training at Cobham ahead of the flight to Italy, but his omission is precautionary rather than due to any new physical setback.

Palmer misses Chelsea training ahead of Atalanta

Chelsea finalised their preparations for Tuesday night’s Champions League meeting with Atalanta during an open training session, but Palmer was notably absent. His exclusion from the squad travelling to Bergamo is not related to a fresh issue, but instead part of a pre-planned recovery schedule after weeks out with a recurring groin problem and a fractured toe, as per various reports. Having only just made his first start since September in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Bournemouth, the medical staff opted to ease his workload to prevent aggravation.

The England attacker's recent return has been closely monitored, beginning with a 30-minute cameo in last week’s defeat to Leeds before starting against Bournemouth at the weekend. Chelsea want to avoid overloading him, especially given the two-month gap between competitive starts, and viewed the Atalanta fixture as one that could be safely skipped. Palmer is expected to resume full involvement ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Everton at Stamford Bridge.

With Palmer not featuring in training, the door opens for alternative No.10 options, including Facundo Buonanotte, who did take part in the session. The Brighton loanee has played only sporadically under Enzo Maresca but represents the most natural fit to replace Palmer behind the striker. Other creative attackers, such as Joao Pedro or Estevao Willian, may also be considered as Maresca reshuffles his forward structure.

AdvertisementAFPChelsea already contending with numerous injuries

Chelsea enter the Atalanta clash on 10 points, level with the Italian side, and know victory would go some way to helping them secure automatic qualification from the Champions League league phase. The Blues have shown signs of improvement in Europe, particularly during their convincing 3-0 win over Barcelona, but they remain inconsistent domestically as injuries continue to disrupt momentum.

The list of absentees is already significant, with Liam Delap out after sustaining a shoulder injury against Bournemouth and long-term casualties including Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill, and Dario Essugo. Reece James may also be rested given Moises Caicedo’s return from suspension increases tactical flexibility.

Maresca has emphasised that building physical rhythm is essential for Palmer after missing more than two months of action. The Chelsea boss recently explained that the midfielder’s gradual increase in minutes is intended to stabilise his condition before restoring him as a permanent starter. With the Premier League schedule intensifying, the club’s sports science department is adamant that short-term caution will lead to long-term gain.

Palmer's disrupted season post Club World Cup

Palmer’s stop-start season has been defined by two separate injuries: the groin issue that first sidelined him in September and the fractured toe sustained in a freak accident at home. The latter setback delayed his planned comeback, leaving Chelsea without their chief creative outlet during a congested part of the calendar. His absence was felt sharply as the Blues struggled for goals and consistency, making his eventual return even more significant.

Despite missing 19 matches across competitions, Palmer remains central to Maresca’s tactical vision as the side’s primary playmaker. His performance in the No.10 role offers a unique blend of threat and creativity that few in the squad can replicate. That is precisely why the Blues are determined not to jeopardise his recovery by rushing him into high-intensity European matches too quickly.

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GettyPalmer to be ready for the Everton game

Palmer is expected to resume training in the coming days and is being prepared to start against Everton on Saturday. The Premier League fixture is viewed internally as the more important game for maintaining Chelsea’s domestic trajectory.

Looking further ahead, Palmer’s reintegration will be pivotal to Chelsea’s hopes in both Europe and the Premier League. If the club’s phased recovery plan succeeds, he should be able to return to the consistent match rhythm that makes him one of the most dangerous players on the planet on his day. A fully fit Palmer remains essential to Chelsea’s ambitions, and that is why missing Atalanta is seen as a necessary sacrifice rather than a setback.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will remain in the spotlight while a big question remains on who replaces Shreyas Iyer in the middle order

Sidharth Monga29-Nov-20251:37

Saba Karim: ‘Expect Rohit, Kohli to do well in home series’

Big picture – India can’t be complacent despite recent dominance in ODIsWe can sometimes forget the unfortunate part injuries play in a team’s fortunes. India are now going into a third straight international match with a third different captain after Shubman Gill’s neck injury in the Kolkata Test forced him out of action following non-stop cricket for India’s newest three-format obsession. Their ODI vice-captain, Shreyas Iyer, is also out with a rib injury he sustained while taking a catch back in Australia.This format, though, is still the ideal sweet spot for India. Or at least this generation of players, up until the injured full-time captain and vice-captain. India have been dominant in ODIs, winning the last Asia Cup and the last Champions Trophy, and losing only the final in the last World Cup.Related

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However, they are careful not to be complacent because the next World Cup takes them to South Africa. So they are always going to be wondering if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will still be good to go in late 2027, how to find a seam-bowling allrounder, how to manage workloads. And this is the format teams play the least of.India’s opponents are nowhere near as dominant in ODIs in recent times but they will be riding the high of having beaten India 2-0 in the Tests. This is a rare full tour as nowadays home teams prefer to split Tests and shorter formats to allegedly maximise the earnings. However, all-format tours have their own charm of one side trying to dominate the other team completely and the other looking for some redemption in the other formats.Also, South Africa are closer to full strength now with the exception of Kagiso Rabada’s injury-enforced absence. The return of Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma should add heft to their batting, and Keshav Maharaj should provide them the spin control they missed in Pakistan.These are just three ODIs and they will be forgotten quickly, what with more focus on T20Is right now, but they promise to be cracking contests while they last.Form guideIndia WLLWW
South Africa LWLLWMatthew Breetzke comes to India with a huge reputation to live up to•AFP/Getty ImagesIn the spotlight: RoKo and Matthew BreetzkeKL Rahul will take over India’s leadership as the selectors have resisted the temptation to go back to Rohit Sharma, who returned to the ODIs, his only active international format, with a century in the third match against Australia. It is a clear sign that Rohit and Virat Kohli will forever remain under extra scrutiny just by the virtue of how old they will be by the World Cup in 2027.Matthew Breetzke comes to India with a big reputation to live up to. He is the only player to have scored 50 or more in each of his first five ODIs, and he averages 67.75 while playing the difficult role of batting in the middle order.Team news: Shubman Gill and Kagiso Rabada are outYashasvi Jaiswal should be the natural replacement for Gill at the top of the order with Ruturaj Gaikwad primed to take Iyer’s slot in the middle order. If Gaikwad gets the nod, Rishabh Pant, who is back in the squad, will struggle to make the starting XI because India will need two allrounders. It remains to be seen if one of those allrounders will be a seam bowler in Nitish Kumar Reddy. In Australia, they played all three while the series was live because they wanted batting depth. If they repeat the formation, all three will get in.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad/Rishabh Pant, 5 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 9 Harshit Rana, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Prasidh Krishna1:09

Karim: An opportunity for Jaiswal ‘to cement his place’

Markram should slot back into the opening role, something South Africa have tried since the last World Cup where he batted at No. 4. Bavuma should take his No. 3 position.South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Matthew Breetzke, 5 Dewald Brevis, 6 Rubin Hermann, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Lungi NgidiPitch and conditionsThis is only the sixth ODI Ranchi is hosting. There has been only one score of over 300, which was defended successfully, but chases of 270-280 haven’t quite been cakewalks either. The pitch generally is on the slower side; in the last ODI there, Washington Sundar opened the bowling for India. The weather will be perfect to play cricket in, but a lot will depend on dew. Without dew, batting first is not a bad shout in Ranchi.Stats and trivia Since 2006, India and South Africa have played ten bilateral ODI series against each other. The scoreline is 5-5. Bavuma needs 59 runs to become only the 22nd South Africa player to score 2000 ODI runs.Quotes”Rutu, obviously, is a top-class player. We have all seen it. With whatever opportunities, limited opportunities he has got [with India], he has really utilised it and shown what he can do. Unfortunately, in ODI cricket, the top six or top five is quite settled. And they are performing really well.”
“When you add those two names to the line-up, we expect to see a full house tomorrow and that’s exciting. I think obviously two vastly experienced and dangerous players and they can cause a lot of damage to us, but we tend to try to focus on what sort of damage we can cause the opposition.”

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