Palmer suffers 'freak accident' at home, ruling him out of Barca & Arsenal games

Cole Palmer suffered a freak accident at home which has left him with a fractured toe - ruling him out of Chelsea's upcoming key games.

The midfielder has been plagued by a groin problem all season and Stamford Bridge boss Enzo Maresca had been hoping to have his star man back in the coming weeks.

But Palmer will now be unavailable for selection for the Blues, who are set to face Burnley, Barcelona and Arsenal in the coming 10 days.

Palmer has played just three Premier League games this season, and has been absent after being forced off with an injury during Chelsea's 2-1 loss against Man United back in September.

He had been struggling with a groin issue but the Blues initially hoped he could return to action after two or three weeks rest.

The 23-year-old had shared a positive update with fans earlier this month, posting a series of snaps of himself in the gym at Chelsea's Cobham base on social media.

Palmer added the caption 'Whatever the 5th pic says', with the photo displaying a whiteboard at Chelsea's base featuring the message 'No-one gives a f***, work harder'.

Daily Mail Sport's Chelsea Confidential revealed earlier this month that Palmer was yet to return to training.

The fracture to his toe proves to be another setback in his long-awaited recovery.