Maresca: We learned at 11 o clock last night that Palmer was injured; Lavia will be out for at least a month

Hupu reported on November 22 that Chelsea head coach Maresca attended the pre-match press conference against Burnley. The following is the non-live broadcast part.

Maresca revealed how the doctor told him about Palmer's injury:

"It was 11 o'clock at night. When I receive news from the doctor at 11 o'clock at night, it is usually bad news.

I looked at my phone and it was the doctor. When he came, all he said was, 'Cole had an accident at home.' I was right next to my wife. I said, 'Oh my God! I'm not kidding, I'm serious!"

Maresca also said:

"For us, Cole is like Haaland is to Manchester City and Salah is to Liverpool. I think if they can't play, the team will not be the original team.

I'm very proud of the players because they proved to be good players during the difficult period of Cole's absence."

Maresca was asked whether Palmer will continue to deal with the groin injury throughout the season after his toe heals.

"Hopefully not, but I don't know. I won't say yes or no; I really don't know. Cole was scheduled to train on Thursday. He was ready. Unfortunately, just the day before, he got injured."

Maresca, meanwhile, expects midfielder Lavia to miss a month or more with a quadriceps injury. Lavia was injured early in Chelsea's 2-2 away draw with Qarabach in the Champions League on November 5.

"Romeo now needs to focus on his recovery and I think he will be out for at least a month and then we will see.

I spoke to Romeo yesterday (Thursday) and he said that we need to keep persevering because eventually we will find a solution that suits him. Unfortunately, he is out again."

Finally, Maresca was unhappy that Chelsea was scheduled to kick off at 12:30 pm for the second consecutive time after the international break.

"We can accept it once, but not twice in a row."