Chelsea: Cole Palmer broke his toe in a domestic accident

Palmer’s last appearance was during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on September 20.

The Blues have played 11 games in all competitions since then, winning eight and losing two, and are third in the Premier League table.

“I think his teammates are better players with Cole,” Maresca added. “I feel a lot better when Cole is on the pitch, and we all want Cole on the pitch.

“At the same time, when Cole is not on the field, we need to find a solution. The team is performing very well but we are better with Cole. He was close to being back with us.”

Enzo Fernandes, Pedro Neto and Benoit Badiashelli are all available for the trip to Turf Moor.

Chelsea have Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi in their so-called ‘bomb squad’ and Maresca confirmed nothing has changed with the duo, despite the defender featuring for the Under-21s and training with the first team during the international break.

“Axel and Raheem are Chelsea players,” he said. “Axel helps the second team, helps the young players.

“During the international break we only had five or six players here, so we needed some second team players. Axel was part of some training sessions with the second team players, but I think it was just one session with us.”