Enzo Maresca confirms Cole Palmer to be out for at least six weeks, Levi Colwill and Liam Delap also to miss out Nottingham Forest game

Chelsea will travel away from home to face a struggling Nottingham Forest in their upcoming Premier League match, this Saturday evening. While the Blues are coming after an inspiring win over Liverpool, the hosts are without a win in their last six matches.

Injury burden seems to be never-ending for Chelsea, with the latest developments stating that Cole Palmer will be out for another six weeks. Even though a surgery is not required, manager Enzo Maresca stated that the medical team are not rushing with him at the moment and trying to protect him to make the winger available only when he is 100% fit.

"I was wrong. Unfortunately he needs to be out probably six more weeks. So, yeah, this is the the update. We try just to protect Cole as much as we can and the most important thing is that when he comes back, he's fully fit," said Maresca, ahead of their match against Nottingham Forest.

"Unfortunately the medical staff are not magicians. You never know that probably you need six weeks. We hope that its enough but it's a problem that we need to see step by step, week after week. But for sure he's going to be okay," added the Italian.

Excessive international breaks has been a hindrance for the smooth recovery of players going into the league matches, adding up to the worries of the reigning Club World Cup champions. The return dates of Levi Colwill and Liam Delap are yet to be known.

The availability of players like Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto will be taken only after the final practice session. All of the three had not attended the last training session. On the other hand, Benoit Badiashile will be out of action till December.

"We have Levi (Colwill) and Liam (Delap) that are still out. Unfortunately, Benoa (Badisahile) will be out until December due to injury and the muscle problem. He was doing fantastic. He showed how good he is and we needed him but we're going to wait for him," informed Maresca.

"And then we have Moises (Caicedo), Enzo (Fernandez), Pedro (Neto) who didn't take part on the session yesterday. And we will see if they can train today, otherwise they're going to be out for tomorrow," quipped the manager.

Nottingham Forest are just a shade above the relegation zone, having won just one of their first seven matches in the league so far. Interestingly, they have conceded most of their goals after the 70th minute, exposing their defence towards the dying minutes.

When asked whether Chelsea are looking to exploit that particular area, Maresca stated that they are preparing for the match as a whole, not focusing on any particular area.

"No, when we analyze a team, we try to consider everything, you have to go match by match and understand why they concede the goal and in which moment. It's always different for sure," Maresca explained.

"I think that sometimes your plan also depends how the game is. You can do more changes or less. I think especially now with the amount of games that we have from now on, we need to think about changes not only during the game but also in terms of start XI," he summed up.

Chelsea have had the most number of progressive passes for any team this season, proving how positive they have been on the field. However, the number of through balls is somewhere midway when compared to other teams. The Italian manager feels that the absence of Levi Colwill and Cole Palmer is the reason for the lack of creativity.

"For sure. We lost two players who were for us the main players in terms of build-up last season and when we talk about build-up, we talk also about breaking lines. Levi for us was the main one from behind," stated the Club World Cup winning manager.

"Cole was the main one in the middle of the pitch but I think we are trying to find different solution with the players that we have in this moment," he added.