Chelsea have reportedly sent Cole Palmer for scans on his knee after being caught by a nasty challenge from Lisandro Martinez during the 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
The two English giants played out a 1-1 draw in their Premier League showdown at Old Trafford after a Moises Caicedo volley cancelled out the penalty from Bruno Fernandes three minutes earlier
As well as being disappointed to only earn a share of the spoils at the Theatre of Dreams, Chelsea were left furious by a challenge on Palmer during the closing minutes of the game.
After attempting to flick the ball over the head of Lisandro Martinez, Palmer was taken out by a knee-high tackle from the Argentine defender, however the on-field referee only produced a yellow card and the VAR deemed the review “not worthy”, allowing the United defender to remain on the pitch for the final few minutes.
The Blues head coach, Enzo Maresca was left fuming after the decision to keep Martinez playing until the end of the game. Revealing the disagreement that he had with the officials over the incident, he was quoted on The Independent saying:
“I know I will be asked about the referee’s decision and I think it’s quite clear for almost all of us, but the referee is there to make the decision and he took a different decision.”
“I told [the referee] at the end of the game that if you don’t go for the ball and you just go for the player it is a red. When there’s no intention to go for the ball and you go for the player’s legs, for me there’s no doubt for the decision. I think it’s quite clear that it was a red.”
Now, according to The Telegraph, Palmer will head for scans to determine the full extent of his injury ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Arsenal.
Chelsea officials are hopeful that Palmer has avoided any internal damage and are aiming for the England international to start against Arsenal, but all will depend on the results of the scans.
