Liam Rosenior provides Chelsea fitness update before Villa Park trip with Palmer, James and Lavia available and Cucurella closing in
Chelsea head to Villa Park on Wednesday evening with encouraging injury news after Liam Rosenior confirmed both Cole Palmer and Reece James are fit to face Aston Villa, as well as encouraging news on Marc Cucurella.
The Blues are looking to bounce back from Sunday’s narrow defeat at Arsenal, and there had been brief concern when Palmer went down during that match.
However, Rosenior quickly eased fears in his pre-match press conference ahead of the upcoming Premier League clash.
“Cole took a knock [vs Arsenal] but he’s absolutely fine,” the Chelsea head coach confirmed. ‘He’s looking really good, and I think you can see how we’ve managed him in recent weeks.”
Palmer was withdrawn in the second half at the Emirates, but Rosenior explained that the decision was tactical rather than injury-related.
“He played 83 minutes and it was a tactical decision to take him and Enzo [Fernandez] off because they were on yellow cards and I wanted to get some fresh energy on.
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“So yes, Cole’s absolutely fine to start the game on Wednesday and Reece is also fine.”
There was also positive news regarding Romeo Lavia who has been out for most of the current season.
“I think he is close to starting,” Rosenior said. “We have managed him in a different way in terms of rehab, and hopefully, now that he is back fit, he stays fit.”
Estevao Willian is progressing well and is back running on the pitch, while Jamie Gittens continues to make strides in his recovery, though he is not yet ready to return.
Cucurella closing in on comeback
There was encouraging news regarding Marc Cucurella. The Spaniard has been sidelined recently but is edging closer to a comeback.
“Cucu is looking really good, and hopefully we can get him back involved if not on Wednesday, then on Saturday,” Rosenior added.
With defensive reinforcements on the horizon and key attackers fit, Chelsea travel to Aston Villa with some optimism as they aim to get back to winning ways.