Cole Palmer is struggling with a groin injury, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has confirmed. Palmer had been taken out of the Chelsea starting XI just before kick-off in east London, with wonderkid Estevao replacing him on the teamsheet.
Palmer had been spotted by the television cameras trudging down the tunnel early, with it later confirmed that he'd "felt something" in the warm-up. Eagle-eyed social media users spotted Palmer pointing towards a groin problem while trudging off the pitch - something which has now been confirmed by the Chelsea boss.
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Maresca told Sky Sports that Palmer wasn't feeling unwell, but didn't elaborate further when quizzed on what type of problem it was. In the end, Palmer's services weren't needed by Chelsea, given they were much the better team throughout the contest, even after falling behind to an early Lucas Paqueta goal.
Speaking after his side's sensational victory against their London rivals, Maresca explained: “In the last four or five days he was not 100 per cent and tonight during the warm-up he felt something in his groin, so we preferred not to take the risk.”
On the way his team was able to get past the news, Maresca added: "You are there to say things, and people in general. The ones that say we are just 'Cole team'. Cole is our best player, we are a much, much better team. But we showed last season when Cole wasn't 100 per cent and we achieved top four."
Marc Cucurella was quizzed on losing Palmer during the post-match debrief, with the Spanish international saying: "It's difficult because we practice one thing, at the end we need to change very fast but I think Estevao, in this case, played an amazing game. I think it's very important because we have a good squad, all of us, we are ready at any time and we are very happy because we showed we have a good team."
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Joao Pedro equalised for Chelsea shortly after going behind, with Pedro Neto on hand to put the world champions 2-1 ahead midway through the half. Chelsea added a third before the break, this time Estevao dancing through the West Ham defence, before putting the ball on a plate for Enzo Fernandez to tap into an empty net.
There was no reprieve for West Ham in the second half, with Moises Caicedo steering home a difficult chance after the restart, only for Trevoh Chalobah to score from another set-piece just three minutes later. It's a result that keeps Chelsea's unbeaten record in tact and moves them top of the early Premier League table ahead of the Saturday, Sunday and Monday fixtures.