Chelsea fans were rocked with the news yesterday that they may be going into the London derby against Arsenal without their key player.
It was revealed that Cole Palmer is the latest name to be added to the ever-growing injury list at Stamford Bridge, with him now being listed as absent due to illness.
Mauricio Pochettino made it clear that he doesn’t know at this point whether he will be able to feature right now, however would predict he will not be fit enough for the match at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea without Palmer vs Arsenal
This will be a real blow to a side who it is fair to say have completely relied on the 21-year-old up to now. His last two home appearances have seen him score seven goals combined.
If he is not able to play, opportunities will crop up for the rest of their attacking stars to show that they are not what is being perceived by many as a one-man team.
One of those who could really use a strong performance is Raheem Sterling, who it seems is not the most popular figure in West London right now.
His displays this season have clearly not been up to his standards, and he has actually had a difficult time to win a number of fans around since his £50m move.
Sterling has massive chance to impress vs Arsenal
He didn’t get the opportunity off the bench against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final, however he really should have when he and Ben Chilwell led a counter-attack late in the game.
A strong performance against a big rival away from home would go a long way to turning that around, and show even his biggest doubters that he still has a big role to play in the immediate future of this club in their current regime.
With reports stating that some at the club are open to his sale at the end of the season, he is perhaps running out of time to make it work.