Enzo Maresca has provided the latest news on Cole Palmer’s fitness ahead of the weekend’s London derby against Arsenal.

The Blues host Mikel Arteta’s side at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and will aim to secure a valuable three points in addition to a victory in a London derby.

Palmer couldn’t feature against Noah in the Conference League on Thursday having not been registered in our squad for the league phase. Yet he was at Stamford Bridge to watch his teammates record an impressive 8-0 victory – and sample the food on offer in the press area.

He and the rest of the Chelsea squad will reconvene at Cobham today as our focus switches to Arsenal, and Maresca is hopeful the 22-year-old will be involved in either today or tomorrow’s training sessions.

He said: ‘Cole is getting better, but because he can walk and have dinner doesn’t mean he is completely fit.

‘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.’

In only one of our past five games has Maresca not changed his entire starting XI – Pedro Neto the man to retain his place in the team after the victory against Panathinaikos.

The Blues have benefitted from the fresh legs throughout the campaign and, with plenty more alterations expected for the visit of the Gunners, the head coach had underlined the importance of carefully managing his squad.

‘At this moment, we are quite lucky we don’t have injuries, so we have 24 or 25 players available and we can choose,’ noted Maresca.

‘The way we have tried to do things since we started the season means we protect players, as it’s one thing to play three matches a week and it’s another to play one.

‘We protect the players in this moment, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen all season because there will be a moment where we have injuries or we need to change things.’