Chelsea star ruled out of international but there’s a sigh of relief ahead of Arsenal

There will be a sigh of relief among Chelsea fans who were concerned that yet another one of their key players was set to join the ever-growing injury list.

The Blues have been struck by a series of issues with some of their most important men and, despite a huge squad, their first season under Mauricio Pochettino has been hampered by various knocks.

It was feared that another might be added when midfielder Cole Palmer was forced off early in England’s Under 21s’ 9-1 win over Serbia on Thursday and left the squad to travel back to London, rather than go with his international team mates who take on Ukraine in Slovakia on Monday.

However, under 21s boss Lee Carsley admitted that the injury wasn’t too serious and they sent Palmer home as a precaution. “I think Cole would be fine, but we don’t take any chances with any of the players,” said Carsley of the dead leg which meant Palmer had to come off early in the second half on Thursday in Nottingham.

“If there is a slight doubt that they’re going to miss a game at the weekend, we get them back to the clubs as quickly as we can. We could’ve kept Cole here another day and see how it was, but we didn’t think it was right. Everyone else is fine, a few colds and sniffles.”

Chelsea take on Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday when the Premier League returns following the international break.