The 23-year-old England international hasn’t played for Chelsea since being replaced halfway through the first half of their 2-1 loss to Manchester United on September 20.
Maresca said on Friday that his initial prediction that Palmer would return following the international break was excessively optimistic.

“I was mistaken. Regretfully, he will likely need to be absent for another six weeks. This is the update, then,” Maresca remarked.

The Chelsea manager did clarify, though, that Palmer would not need surgery. He continued, “We just try to protect Cole as much as we can, and the most important thing is that he’s fully recovered when he comes back.”

Palmer would be difficult to replace, Maresca admitted ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, October 18.

Since we don’t have another player like Cole, he stated, “We definitely need to find a different solution, we need to find different skills.” “Because Cole is different.”

Palmer has been a vital creative force for Chelsea this season and has been one of the team’s best players since coming from Manchester City.