Chelsea hit with major Cole Palmer injury blow minutes before West Ham match

Cole Palmer has been ruled out of Chelsea's clash against West Ham after sustaining an injury in the warm-up at the London Stadium.

Palmer, 23, was named in the starting XI by Enzo Maresca but was forced to withdraw after picking up a problem while warming up. He was spotted walking off and down the tunnel alongside fitness coach Marcos Alvarez.

Maresca told Sky Sports reporter David Craig that Palmer "felt something" and his absence was "precautionary.

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Before the two sets of players walked out of the tunnel, Palmer was seen walking out wearing a hooded parka to take his place on the bench alongside his Chelsea teammates.

Estevao, a big-money summer signing from Palmeiras, replaced Palmer in the starting line-up and that also forced a switch in how Chelsea set-up to begin the match.

The Brazilian slotted straight into the right wing position with Pedro Neto moving to the left and Joao Pedro dropping into the No.10 behind striker Liam Delap.

Palmer's omission is a major blow for the Blues and Maresca's side, in fact, made a disastrous start in east London. West Ham went in front in the sixth minute as, after Estevao gave the ball away inside his own half, Lucas Paqueta drove at the Chelsea defence and fired home a powerful strike from the edge of the box.

However, the Blues responded to going behind and equalised within nine minutes. Pedro was the man who scored, as he got on the end of Marc Cucurella's flick on to head home from inside the six-yard area.

In a frantic start, West Ham then thought they had gone back in front with Niclas Fullkrug lashing a low shot into the corner. But, following a VAR check, the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build-up.

That proved to be a dagger to the Hammers, as Chelsea went down the other end and put themselves 2-1 ahead. Pedro picked the ball up and lofted a cross to the back post where Pedro Neto volleyed home.

Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw in their Premier League curtain-raiser against Crystal Palace last Sunday and are desperate to bounce back and record a first win of the season.