Xabi Alonso believes Cole Palmer has put his injury worries behind him and is a world-class player when at his best. The Chelsea head coach is confident the 24-year-old can return to top form this season after a campaign disrupted by fitness issues.
Palmer's injury-hit season
Palmer was hampered by injury problems last season, most notably a groin issue which he had to manage. As a result, he was limited to 26 Premier League appearances, scoring 10 goals, and missed out on England's World Cup squad at the end of the season.
Asked whether Palmer's injury problems are behind him, Alonso said: 'Yes. I think that sometimes you need to go through a difficult moment with an injury or whatever to learn from that.'
Working hard to stay fit
'I think that Cole has gone through a difficult period with the injury, and now he's working really hard to have the prevention not to have to feel those symptoms,' Alonso added. 'Since the first day, he's been working really hard to avoid that.'
Chelsea begin their season on Monday night at Fulham, where Palmer is expected to line up alongside summer signing Morgan Rogers behind Joao Pedro. Alonso has high hopes for the former Manchester City star and has been impressed by his attitude.
Alonso on Palmer's quality
'Cole is determined to enjoy his football,' said the former midfielder. 'He wants to be fit. He wants to feel healthy. He wants to have a good connection with the players around him. And I've said that if we have this Cole and we are able to reach him and he feels that flow in the game and that he connects well with the players, I'm sure that his level is top-class, world-class I would say, and that he will have a great season.'
The Spaniard added on working with Palmer: 'Different players need different connections and Cole, for sure, he's very analytical. I think that he's smart. You need to give him his space to connect, but I'm really enjoying it because he's top-talented and with little, he understands a lot so it's been very interesting.'
Alonso will be without the suspended Wesley Fofana at Fulham, while Jordan Henderson and Emmanuel Emegha are not fit.
