11 players could miss Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest as Enzo Maresca faces Cole Palmer dilemma

As many as 11 players could miss Chelsea's clash against Nottingham Forest. Enzo Maresca will be watching on from the stands when the East Midlands outfit lock horns with his side at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues will aim to build on their momentum from before the international break, having won each of their last two games. Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou will be looking to pick up his first victory as Forest boss.

Since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager has only won a point from a possible 12 in the Premier League. Postecoglou doesn't have a great record against Chelsea either; he's lost each of his four encounters.

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While the Club World Cup champions may fancy their chances this weekend, they could be without eight players. Speaking to reporters at Cobham on Friday morning, Maresca confirmed that Cole Palmer will be out for six weeks.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder has been nursing a groin injury, and he's missed each of Chelsea's last four games. The Blues boss said: "Unfortunately, he needs to be out probably six more weeks.

"We try just to protect Cole as much as we can, and the most important thing is that," added Maresca. "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 has been a frustrated figure, 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 Italian confirmed that Liam Delap and Levi Colwill are still out, nursing a hamstring issue and an anterior cruciate ligament injury, respectively. Maresca also ruled Benoit Badiashile out until December due to a 'muscle problem', while announcing that Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Pedro Neto are doubts.

Dario Essugo is out, too. The 20-year-old midfielder suffered a thigh injury during the September international break, which required surgery, and he's currently enrolled on a rehabilitation programme.

The Chelsea boss did, however, confirm that Reece James is fit to play. Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, and Andrey Santos are also available for selection, having each recently spent a period on the sidelines.

As for Forest, they could be without three big names. Chris Wood was substituted during the second half of New Zealand’s 1-1 draw with Norway on Tuesday after equalling his country's all-time appearance record with 88 caps.

Speaking to beIN Sports after the game, Darren Bazeley revealed that Wood was nursing 'tightness within his knee'. The New Zealand boss said: "It's been a little bit sore for him this week. Nothing too bad.

"It's a little bit of tightness within his knee, so I think he will be fine. But we knew throughout the week he wasn't 100 per cent fit, so he didn't play much against Poland [on Thursday last week]."

Ola Aina remains out after undergoing hamstring surgery, and it remains unclear whether Oleksandr Zinchenko has recovered from a groin issue. Murillo and Douglas Luiz were back out on the grass, and they could be in contention to feature on Saturday.

The former was an unused substitute in Forest's 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United before the international break, having only recently recovered from a back problem. The latter wasn't even in the matchday squad.