The Blues progressed to the league phase of the competition following a 3-2 aggregate win over Servette in the play-off round last month.

Palmer was in the squad for both of those games alongside Fofana, but the duo won't be featuring unless the Blues reach the knock-out round.

The club are keen to handle the workload of Palmer and Fofana and don't want to risk them during the early stages of the Conference League.

Romeo Lavia has been carrying a minor hamstring injury of his own, and the Blues want to be extra careful with him over the forthcoming months.

Chelsea can include all three players in the knock-out phase, considering they are allowed to make three additions to the squad next year.

Looking at this, the Blues won't be able to register any new signings for the competition, should they opt to include the trio for the knock-outs.

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