Eight Chelsea players to miss Nottingham Forest clash after Cole Palmer hammer blow

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Enzo Maresca could be without as many as eight players when Chelsea lock horns with Nottingham Forest this weekend. The Blues are set to face off against Ange Postecoglou's side at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon, hoping to continue their winning streak .

Estevao Willian was the hero in Chelsea's victory over Liverpool before the international break, scoring a late goal in stoppage time . Despite some key players being absent, the west London outfit has managed to secure victories in its last two matches.

Meanwhile, Postecoglou is still chasing his first win as Forest manager . Since taking over from Nuno Espirito Santo, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss has five defeats and two draws on his record.

To add to Evangelos Marinakis' concerns, Postecoglou doesn't have a strong track record against Chelsea. The 60-year-old has been on the losing end in each of his four encounters with the Blues, with his teams scoring four goals and conceding 11.

Despite Forest's struggles, Maresca might have his own challenges, potentially missing eight players. Speaking to journalists at Cobham on Friday morning, the Chelsea manager provided an update on Cole Palmer , who has been recovering from a groin injury.

"Unfortunately, he needs to be out probably six more weeks," said Maresca. "We try just to protect Cole as much as we can, and the most important thing is that."

The Italian coach added: "Unfortunately, the medical staff they are not magicians, they never know that you probably need six weeks. We hope that six weeks they are enough, but it's a problem that we need to see step by step, week after week, but for sure he's going to be okay."

When asked if Palmer is frustrated by the issue, Maresca said: "No, he looks very good, to be honest, he looks relaxed. He's trying to recover from the injury, he's doing all the therapy that he needs to do, so he looks good."

The Chelsea manager confirmed that Liam Delap and Levi Colwill are still out, nursing a hamstring problem and an anterior cruciate ligament injury, respectively. Maresca also announced that Benoit Badiashile will be out until December.

The 24-year-old defender was forced to leave the pitch during the Blues' victory over Liverpool. The Italian said: "Unfortunately, Benoit [Badiashile] will be out until December, injury again."

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Maresca continued: "A muscle problem. He was doing fantastic. He showed all of this, he showed how he needed, and we're going to wait for him. And then we have Moi [Caicedo], Enzo [Fernandez], and Pedro [Neto]. They didn't take part in the session yesterday, and we'll see if they can train today; otherwise, they're going to be out."

Reece James is fit and ready for selection. The Chelsea captain had to withdraw from the England squad due to an injury, which was not considered serious, missing matches against Wales and Latvia.

The Blues are poised to welcome back Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, and Andrey Santos to the matchday squad this weekend. Maresca said: "Tosin is back, [Wesley] Fofana is back, Andrey Santos is back.

"But, at the same time, unfortunately Enzo is out, Moi is out, Pedro is out, it's a little bit of a balance, but again, we're going to try our best to find the right solution for the next games."

Maresca will still be without Dario Essugo, who picked up a thigh injury during the September international break. The 20-year-old midfielder, whom the Blues snapped up from Sporting CP in the summer, is currently undergoing a rehabilitation programme at Cobham training ground following surgery.

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