Chelsea injury news: Will Cole Palmer be forced to undergo surgery on a troublesome groin problem?

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has refused to completely rule out Cole Palmer undergoing surgery on his troublesome groin.

The England international first started to struggle with a groin issue in pre-season, and he has already missed two Premier League matches this season against West Ham United and Fulham due to the problem.

The 23-year-old was also absent from England's September internationals, but he has featured in Chelsea's last three matches, coming off the bench against Brentford in the Premier League on September 13 before featuring from the first whistle four days later against Bayern Munich.

Palmer was again named in the XI against Manchester United on Saturday, but he was replaced in just the 21st minute of the match, with Maresca making alterations following Robert Sanchez's red card.

Maresca has admitted that the attacker's issue is a concern, and he will need to be assessed ahead of Tuesday's EFL Cup third-round fixture against Lincoln City.

Palmer is struggling to overcome a groin problem

Chelsea have four more matches before the October international break, with Brighton & Hove Albion the visitors to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League this weekend, before the Blues host Benfica in the Champions League.

"Cole probably is the only one that we need to assess a little bit. The rest, they are okay. We are just recovering from last week when we played three games in a row," Maresca told reporters.

When asked whether Palmer could require surgery to fully fix the issue, the Chelsea boss continued: "He did already a huge effort on last Saturday to try to play the game. Again, he tried Saturday morning, he did the test, he was okay but not 100%. But he wants to be there to help teammates to be there in that kind of game.

"But unfortunately then we had have 10 players and also it was painful so we decided to change it. And it's more day by day, week by week, game by game to see how it is and decide what we do.

"The medical staff, they didn't mention to me about surgery until today [meaning there has been no chat about it up until this point]. I don't know if in the next days or the next weeks, but I don't think so, to be honest."

Palmer has been an incredible signing for Chelsea since arriving from Manchester City in the summer of 2024, scoring 45 goals and registering 29 assists in 101 appearances for the club.

Lavia, Badiashile remain unavailable for Chelsea

Maresca also revealed that Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile would again miss out against Lincoln.

"No, no, they are not back for this game, unfortunately. They both took part in the session yesterday. That is good news. Hopefully, they can be available very soon, but they are not available for tomorrow," he said.

"Again, Cole is the one. Then we have some players with small problems from already a long time, like Moi [Caicedo], like Joao [Pedro], that they are trying to manage a little bit themselves. But then the rest, they are okay."

Levi Colwill, Liam Delap and Dario Essugo are also currently injured for the capital club, who will be looking to bounce back from the loss to Man United when they tackle Lincoln in the League Cup.