Chelsea could be without eight players vs Nottingham Forest as Enzo Maresca handed injury nightmare

Enzo Maresca is set to be missing a host of key Chelsea players for his squad's trip to Nottingham Forest at the weekend. The Blues return to action after a two-week international break away at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon in what is another crucial match for Maresca's side.

However, the Chelsea head coach will not be able to call upon some of his important players in Nottingham. Cole Palmer has been ruled out, with football.london reporting last week that the 23-year-old is expected to be out of action for the remainder of the month with a groin injury that has been troubling him for the majority of the season thus far.

Palmer has only played four times for Chelsea in all competitions in what has been a stop-start campaign for the England international thus far. The good news is that this injury is unlikely to require surgery, with sources confirming the attacker is set to be out for weeks rather than months.

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Reece James, meanwhile, withdrew from the England squad last week after feeling some pain during the win against Liverpool prior to the international break. The injury, however, is not thought to be serious with sources telling football.london that the decision for James to pull out is viewed as more of a precautionary one.

Enzo Fernandez withdrew from the Argentina squad after being involved in his country's 1-0 victory over Venezuela with an injury. We are yet to discover the full extent of Fernandez's problem but Maresca is likely to be asked about it during Friday's pre-match press conference in Cobham.

Andrey Santos and Tosin Adarabioyo missed the last two games for Chelsea before the international break through muscular injuries. Maresca said before the break that the duo should return afterwards, though they have not been spotted in any of the training pictures released by the club in recent days.

Liam Delap is expected back next month as he continues his recovery from a hamstring problem that has kept him out since the end of August. Levi Colwill, though, is set to miss the majority of the campaign after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during Chelsea's short pre-season.

Dario Essugo remains on the sidelines, too, with the Portuguese midfielder injuring his thigh during the last international break. Essugo's injury required surgery last month and he there are fears the midfielder could be out until December time.