The England international sustained a knock to his knee against Manchester United following a reckless challenge from Lisandro Martinez in stoppage time.

Palmer has not trained for the Blues for the past five days, but Maresca remains hopeful that he can recover in time to face the Gunners on Sunday evening.

Maresca said: "He is getting better and we still have two days to prepare for the game. Hopefully, we can have him for a session - at least on Saturday - and then we take a decision."

Palmer has had another fine season with the Blues. He has already registered seven goals and five assists from just 10 appearances in the Premier League campaign.

His presence would be a massive boost for the Blues as they look to end their recent poor run against the Gunners. Chelsea have not won the derby since August of 2021.

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