Chelsea Handed Palmer Fitness Boost Ahead of Bournemouth Clash

Chelsea have been given a lift ahead of Saturday's Premier League game with Bournemouth, as Cole Palmer is expected to be available. 

The 24-year-old had a minor muscular problem that forced him out of the England squad, but he is reportedly "confident" of starting for Xabi Alonso.

The Sun reports that Palmer spent the international break doing individual work with a specialist fitness coach in the Caribbean. 

He has made a strong start to the season, with four goals and two assists, after a poor and injury-hit last campaign that saw him left out of England's World Cup squad. That form earned him a recall from Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel was not happy when he pulled out. "It is a missed opportunity. He misses too many opportunities," the England boss told reporters. 

"I don't blame him for it. It is just a fact. He misses way too many camps with injuries, and I only want to rely on what I witness and see within my team, and for that you have to be in camp."

He added: "If you're not in camp, there is a next level to impress that you cannot achieve because you can only do it when you are actually on the pitch with me. So yes, it is a missed opportunity."

Alonso still has other fitness worries. Joao Pedro is a major doubt after a knee injury kept him out of the defeat to Brentford and Brazil's friendlies against Australia and India. 

Captain Reece James has a hamstring problem that ruled him out of that London derby, which forced Pedro Neto to play as a makeshift wing-back. 

Summer signing Marco Palestra, a £47 million right-back from Atalanta, is still waiting for his competitive debut because of a quadriceps injury.

Moises Caicedo has been the most frustrating absentee. The midfielder has played only 14 minutes this season because of a calf injury, and he missed Ecuador's latest games too.

Chelsea badly need a win. They are 10th with seven points from their first five games, against Fulham, Brighton, Arsenal, Hull and Brentford. Bournemouth could be tricky, as Chelsea struggled against them last season, drawing 0-0 away and 2-2 at Stamford Bridge.