Chelsea have had to get used to life without Cole Palmer this season. While still one of the most influential figures at the club, a true ‘untouchable’ at Stamford Bridge, injury problems have been a recurring theme.

Between the opening weekend of the season and the first weekend of December, the 23-year-old started just three matches – with one of those against Manchester United in September coming to an end after just 21 minutes.

In October, the decision was made to pull Palmer out of the team so he could focus on rehabilitation with former Blues boss Enzo Maresca insisting the club must protect their talisman ‘as much as they can.’

The England international got his season back on track leading up to Christmas and started eight straight league matches across December and January, competing the full 90 minutes in two of those.

Palmer sat out of four of Liam Rosenior’s first five matches in charge but was fit enough to come off the bench for the second half of last night’s crucial Champions League clash with Napoli, turning the game around with two assists for Joao Pedro.

While his most recent absences have been attributed to a...