When Chelsea travel to Emirates Stadium to face London rivals Arsenal on Tuesday in a Premier League fixture, they could be without the joint top scorer in the Premier League at the moment.

Cole Palmer is tied with Erling Haaland in the top scorer’s race with 20 goals, but he is a doubt for Tuesday’s encounter due to an illness.

The English midfielder played in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City, but in a Monday pre-match conference, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed that the English midfielder is not in top condition for the fixture.

“We will see [Tuesday] morning. Today, I don’t believe he can be involved. Even if he is good [on Tuesday], maybe he is not able to play. We hope he can recover from this situation and be involved with the team.” Pochettino said.

In a statement released on the club’s social media platform on Tuesday, the Blues revealed that Cole was absent from training due to illness, while Ben Chilwell and Malo Gusto will undergo medical assessment ahead of the game.

Chelsea is currently in ninth place on the log and stands a chance of making European places at the end of the season. The Blues have 47 points and three points away from sixth place with a game in hand. A win over Mikel Arteta’s men could put the Blues above Manchester United and Newcastle United.

Meanwhile, Brazilian defender Thiago Silva has decided to leave Chelsea as a free agent at the end of the season. The defender’s decision will be confirmed as soon as possible, having rejected proposals in January to stay and help Chelsea until the end.

Thiago’s next move could be a return or Barcelona, as Fluminense has been interested for a long time, but the player is also keeping all options open.

Chelsea still have seven games before the end of the 2023/2024 Premier League season.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu