Latest Chelsea injury news as Enzo Maresca confirms Cole Palmer injury blow as eight miss out

Enzo Maresca will be looking to pile on the misery when Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground this weekend

Enzo Maresca could be without as many as eight players when Chelsea take on Nottingham Forest this weekend. The Blues will lock horns with Ange Postecoglou's side at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon as they look to pick up from where they left off.

Estevao Willian fired Chelsea to victory against Liverpool before the international break, finding the net late into stoppage time. Despite missing some big names, the west London outfit has won each of its last two games.

Meanwhile, Postecoglou is yet to pick up his first win as Forest boss. Since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss has lost five and drawn two across all competitions.

Unfortunately for Evangelos Marinakis, Postecoglou doesn't have a particularly good record against Chelsea. The 60-year-old has suffered defeats in each of his four meetings with the Blues, scoring four and conceding 11.

Maresca might fancy his chances against Forest, but he could be without eight players. Speaking to reporters at Cobham on Friday morning, the Chelsea boss provided an update on Cole Palmer, who's been nursing a groin injury.

"Unfortunately, he needs to be out probably six more weeks," said Maresca. "We try just to protect Cole as much as we can and the most important thing is that."

The Italian added: "Unfortunately, the medical staff, they are not magicians, they never know that you probably need six weeks. We hope that six weeks, they are enough, but it's a problem that we need to see step by step, week after week, but for sure he's going to be okay."

On whether Palmer is frustrated by the problem, Maresca said: "No, he looks very good, to be honest, he looks relaxed. He's trying to recover from the injury, he's doing all the therapy that he needs to do, so he looks good."

The Chelsea boss confirmed that Liam Delap and Levi Colwill remain out, with a hamstring problem and an anterior cruciate ligament injury respectively. Maresca also ruled Benoit Badiashile out until December.

The 24-year-old defender was forced to come off during the Blues' win over Liverpool. The Italian said: "Unfortunately, Benoit [Badiashile] will be out until December, injury again."

Maresca added: "A muscle problem. He was doing fantastic. He showed all of this, he showed how he needed, and we're going to wait for him. And then we have Moi [Caicedo], Enzo [Fernandez], and Pedro [Neto]. They didn't take part in the session yesterday, and we'll see if they can train today; otherwise, they're going to be out."

Reece James, however, is fit and available for selection. The Chelsea captain withdrew from the England squad due to injury, which was not thought to be serious, missing clashes against Wales and Latvia.

The Blues are set to welcome Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, and Andrey Santos back to the matchday squad this weekend. Maresca said: "Tosin is back, [Wesley] Fofana is back, Andrey Santos is back.

"But, at the same time, unfortunately Enzo is out, Moi is out, Pedro is out, it's a little bit of a balance, but again, we're going to try our best to find the right solution for the next games."

Maresca will also still be with Dario Essugo, who suffered a thigh injury during the September international break. The 20-year-old midfielder, who the Blues signed from Sporting CP in the summer, is currently enrolled on a rehabilitation programme at Cobham training ground following surgery.