Chelsea injury news: Liam Rosenior doubles-down on squad rotation, speaks on player "well-being"

Head coach Liam Rosenior has admitted that he has become very "conscious" of the workload of Chelsea's squad over the past eight months.

Since his arrival at Stamford Bridge last month, Rosenior has overseen eight matches in less than four weeks.

As well as making a point of not taking risks on the fitness of his players, the Englishman has frequently rotated, whether that be his personnel or tactics.

Rosenior was criticised for making seven changes for last weekend's Premier League fixture versus West Ham United, as well keeping Cole Palmer on the substitutes' bench against Arsenal in midweek until the hour mark.

Nevertheless, speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Rosenior revealed that Palmer was accepting of the situation as he attempted to see the "bigger picture".

Rosenior talks on "wellbeing" of Chelsea squad

When quizzed on whether Palmer understood his stance, Rosenior told reporters: "He's been magnificent. He's been magnificent. He wants to be playing every minute of every game.

"We know the player that he is, the character that he is, but he's also maturing as a human being. And he understands the bigger picture, which is his career.

"Bearing in mind, I'm very conscious of this, the lads played in the Club World Cup and then they went through the summer with no break. And they've got to play so many games.

"Our schedule has been crazy. Then they have World Cups to go to and international games to play. I want to make sure that the well-being is correct for these players, for their careers as well."

How many games have Chelsea played in 2025-26?

Chelsea have already played 38 matches in all competitions during 2025-26: Twenty-four in the Premier League, eight in the Champions League, five in the EFL Cup and one in the FA Cup.

Meanwhile, they have already played 10 times since January 4. Their intense schedule continues with games against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and Hull City between February 7 and February 13.

Rosenior and his players will finally have some respite during the second half of the month where the only match that they play is at home to Burnley on February 21.

Ten of the first-team squad have already made 30 appearances or more during 2025-26. Four players - Enzo Fernandez, Pedro Neto, Trevoh Chalobah and Joao Pedro - have missed out on no more than two squads since the middle of August.