Chelsea received a significant boost ahead of next week’s Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur, as Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke returned to first-team training on Friday.
Palmer had missed Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal before the March international break, and his absence raised concerns, especially since he had not been seen on the training pitches at Cobham by Thursday. Madueke, on the other hand, has been out for six weeks following a hamstring injury sustained against Brighton on Valentine’s Day.
Additionally, Nicolas Jackson has returned to training in recent days after a two-month recovery from a muscular issue, providing another much-needed boost to Chelsea’s attacking options as the season nears its end.
Chelsea’s attack was blunt in their most recent match, managing just eight shots in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal—the club’s lowest tally of the season in a Premier League game. Following the disappointing result, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca pointed to the absence of his three key forwards, saying, “It’s a huge difference when you think of the three players with most goals for us: Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and Noni Madueke. Not one of them was on the pitch today. For two of them, they’ve already been out for a long time, so it’s normal that we struggle a bit offensively.”
Together, the trio have contributed to 30 of Chelsea’s 52 Premier League goals this season. The next highest scorer is left-back Marc Cucurella with just four goals.
Palmer and Madueke’s return to training on Friday came after a tough session where the rest of the squad was put through their paces following a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea’s under-21 and under-16 sides in a training match. The senior players had been scheduled for a day off but were called in to Cobham by Maresca as punishment. The coach reportedly saw a more impressive display in training on Friday, likely bolstered by the return of Palmer and Madueke.
