Cole Palmer made his return to Chelsea ’s starting line-up on Saturday, but will not be in Champions League action this week.

The England star had not started for the Blues since September 20 as he was given time to recover from an ongoing groin issue.

There were fears that the 23-year-old would need surgery to fix the injury but the club chose to rest him instead and he spent over two months out of action.

Palmer returned off the substitutes’ bench in defeat at Leeds United last week and was back in the starting XI in the stalemate against the Cherries.

However, he sat out training on Monday ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Italy to face Atalanta on Tuesday night and will not be in the squad for the match.

Instead the Blues are being careful with their star performer, leaving him

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