It’s been suggested that Chelsea’s Cole Palmer suffered a broken toe during a session playing the well-known video game EA FC, previously called FIFA.
The English national team player hasn’t appeared for the Blues since September, having been substituted during their 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Cole Palmer suffers freak injury when playing FIFA
As a busy period approaches, Palmer’s absence has been adequately managed, considering the recent performances of fellow forwards Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho.
However, when questioned about the absence of his No.10 from recent training sessions, Maresca mentioned Palmer is expected to be sidelined again.
“He most likely will not be ready for Saturday, Barcelona, or Arsenal,” he started. “Regrettably, he had an incident at his residence where he struck his toe.
“It isn’t a major concern, but he will be out for the coming week. I often wake during the night with bumps and bruises, so it’s understandable that these things occur.”
However, prior to a significant match against Barcelona this week, the former Leicester manager provided a more hopeful update on the English national player.
“Indeed, Cole is wearing a [protective] boot. The exact return date is uncertain, but it will be soon. He’s already on the field, interacting with the ball, and feels optimistic,” stated Maresca.
“Presently, our focus is solely on tomorrow’s match. It’s a Champions League game against Barcelona, and that is our main concern, followed by Arsenal. I don’t believe he’ll be available for these two games, but he is progressing well.”
Marc Cucurella on how Cole Palmer injured his toe: “To be fair, I don’t know. He’s running because I think he lost a FIFA game or something like this. I think!” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/oHn8yoAw6nNovember 24, 2025
Fellow Chelsea player Marc Cucurella also struggled to contain his laughter when questioned about the former Manchester City player’s recent setback.
“To be honest, I’m not completely sure. It’s possible these kinds of situations sometimes happen. I have experienced this myself a few times, but I’m tougher, so it doesn’t bother me. It’s a real blow for us as he’s getting closer to playing and training with us, but he needs to rest now. However, this is a part of life, a part of a footballer’s life; we have our personal lives and occasionally face such problems. Hopefully, he’ll recover quickly.”
When asked about Palmer’s activities, Cucurella responded: “I couldn’t say. I heard he was running because he thinks he lost a FIFA match or something, apparently!”
