Short-term pain, long-term gain: ⁠Rosenior taking cautious Cole Palmer medical approach

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior shared his decision on Cole Palmer's fitness situation after having "in-depth" conversations with both the player and the medical team.

Palmer is one of the three Chelsea players whose availability for Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg clash with Arsenal remains uncertain.

Unlike Reece James, who was spotted in training on Tuesday afternoon, Palmer and Malo Gusto were missing from the training photos.

The three missed out on Chelsea's FA Cup third-round win over Charlton Athletic last Saturday for what Rosenior described as precautionary measures.

In Palmer's case, in particular, his exclusion from the squad might have had to do with his recent injuries.

"I had a really good in-depth conversation with Cole (on Monday)," Rosenior said in his recent press conference.

"I've had a good in-depth conversation with the medical team, and we're at a stage of the season where we've got another eight games in four weeks, so it'd be crazy for me to risk any player in this phase of the season.

"I have real faith in this group and they showed that against Charlton. We made eight changes and we had a good performance.

"I'll make more changes for Wednesday and I'll make more changes on Saturday.

"To risk a player's health in January is a crazy thing to do if you have the ambition that you want to be strong at the end of the season."

Palmer was out for more than two months due to groin issues and, later, a fractured toe from September until November.

He has since returned and made eight appearances for the Blues in all competitions, but it is clear that he has not been 100 per cent fit.

While Rosenior's comment does not necessarily rule the England international out of the derby against Arsenal, it would not be a surprise if the new head coach decided not to name Palmer in the squad.