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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has issued an injury update on star player Cole Palmer ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal. The England international has had an injury-hit season so far, with the playmaker missing a big chunk of the season from a persistent groin issue. Most recently, he has been sidelined with a fractured toe but Palmer is now on the cusp of being back fit for the Blues.

• Palmer's luck is out

  Chelsea fans were chomping at the bit to see what Palmer could do this season, especially after starring in their Club World Cup final win over Paris Saint-Germain this summer. But a groin problem has limited him to just four appearances in all competitions this term, and just when he looked like he would be fit and ready again, he fractured his toe. In late September, Maresca admitted he was wary of rushing the 23-year-old back to action.

  "We need to protect Cole for sure, 100%. Not only Cole in my personal view because as I said now because of the Club World Cup or because we never stop, we need to manage and protect different players," the Italian said at the time." The solution with Cole, I don’t know, now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him. But it’s also a kind of injury that is not like black and white. It’s an injury that someday you can be better. It’s not that you have pain and tomorrow disappear. Sometimes you can be better, sometimes you can be worse. That’s why we need to manage day by day."

  But sure enough, he had to be withdrawn early from their defeat at Manchester United just over a month ago due to this same injury.

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  Chelsea hit with Palmer boost

  The former Manchester City man did not feature in Chelsea's 3-0 thrashing of Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek, with Maresca trying not to get Blues fans' hopes up about him before the contest.

  "Yes, Cole is wearing a [protective] boot. We don’t know when he will be back but for sure it will be soon. He’s already on the pitch, he’s already touching the ball, and the feeling [for him] is good," said the ex-Leicester City boss. "At the moment, we are only looking at tomorrow’s game. It’s a Champions League game against Barcelona, that is our focus, and then we will look ahead to Arsenal. I don’t think he will be available for these two games, but he is doing well."

  But on Friday, he confirmed Palmer is ready to face Arsenal.

  He told reporters: "He is available for both [to start and to play]. [His return will elevate the squad] A lot. As you said, he's probably our best player. We are happy he is back. We need to give him time to make sure he's 100 per cent fit. He has done fantastically in the past, and there is no doubt he will do fantastically in the future."

• Huge Arsenal test

  Arsenal are on a roll right now. They are six points clear at the top of the Premier League, have outclassed Europe's most in-form team in Bayern Munich, and are the side to beat right now. That, and more, is why Maresca is very respectful of their upcoming opponents.

  He said, via Football London: "They defend fantastically. Any team struggles to score goals against them, even to create chances. They have weapons when they attack. They are top in the Champions League and top in the Premier League. It's another big game. We finished the Barcelona one, and we won, it's a good feeling. If it's bigger than the last one, I don't know. For me, they are all important games. For sure, beating Barcelona and if we are able to beat Arsenal, it's a nice feeling, it's three points. We try to defend in the best way we can. They score goals in set-pieces against every team. They score goals against any team, they have a system in place that works very well and we will try to do our best to prepare in the best way."

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  What comes next for Palmer and Chelsea?

  It remains to be seen if Chelsea will play Palmer from the start against Arsenal, or if he will be brought off the bench. A win would take the Blues to within three points of Mikel Arteta's side, massively boosting their own title chances. But a defeat on their own patch would make the Gunners even stronger favourites to finally win their first league title since 2004. After this contest, Chelsea travel to lowly Leeds United on December 3, followed by a trip to Bournemouth three days later.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been blasted by Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson for the "silly decision" that led to his historic red card for Portugal in their 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Aviva Stadium. CR7 was sent off for the first time in his international career during that contest, when earning his 226th cap, with his reaction to that dismissal being revealed.

• Ronaldo suspension: Sent off for first time when winning 226th cap

  Portugal headed to Dublin knowing that a positive result would confirm their automatic qualification for next summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico. That process will now go down to a final group phase outing against Armenia on Sunday. Ronaldo will sit that game out through suspension.

  A ban must be served after swinging an elbow in the direction of Ireland defender Dara O’Shea. Said incident was the subject of a VAR review, leading to Ronaldo being sent for an early bath. Hallgrimsson had said in the build-up to the game that he felt like CR7 was able to influence the referee during an October contest in Lisbon that delivered a dramatic 1-0 victory for the hosts.

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  Ronaldo fails to deliver on 'good boy' promise

  He said: "It's obviously up to the referee if he takes part in a play. But the thing in Portugal, he was not only controlling the referee, he was controlling the whole stadium, so all the fans supported his actions. The referee just kind of played along. I hope it will be the vice versa now that we are in Aviva. Obviously, a player shouldn't be refereeing. It should be the officials doing the refereeing."

  Ronaldo reacted to those comments by vowing to be on his best behaviour. He told reporters: "I really like the fans here, the support they give to their national team is lovely. For me it's a pleasure to come to play here again, and of course it will be tough. I hope they don't boo me too much, I swear that I'm gonna try to be a good boy!"

• Ronaldo's reaction to red card: Ireland boss reveals what was said

  The five-time Ballon d’Or winner failed to deliver on that promise. He cut a frustrated figure as Portugal conceded twice before half-time. He was then given his marching orders just after the hour mark.

  Hallgrimsson told of that incident: "He lost his focus a little bit, again maybe the fans helped a little bit in that. He was frustrated and reacted in a way that he knows he shouldn't. He said to me walking away, he told me (Hallgrimsson's pre-match remarks were) a clever thing to do and he blamed the referee or whomever, but it was his silly decision to attack our player."

  Hallgrimsson went on to say of his touchline exchange with Ronaldo as the all-time great made his way off the field: "He complimented me for putting pressure on the referee. It was his action on the pitch that cost him the red card. It had nothing to do with me – unless I got into his head."

  Asked if he had spoken to Ronaldo after the game, Ireland’s head coach added: "No, I think we spoke enough when he came off. There was nothing to speak about. This was just a moment of a little silliness from him, I would say."

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  2026 World Cup qualification: Crucial games for Portugal & Ireland

  Two goals from Troy Parrott helped Ireland to a notable win on home soil, meaning that their own qualification hopes now rest on a final showdown with Hungary. Hallgrimsson said of that must-win encounter: "That is what we wanted, it is in our hands and with a performance like this we have a chance. We have to focus and recover, we have tired legs and the staff need to work really hard to get everyone fit and ready because that game is very important now. We won the second game in the last window and rotated players and happy we did that today. Those who played 90 minutes will be tired but hopefully everyone will be ready."

  Portugal will be at the 2026 finals. Ronaldo has admitted that tournament will be his last World Cup – as he graces FIFA’s flagship event for the sixth time at 41 years of age – but is not yet ready to head into retirement as he continues to chase down 1,000 career goals.

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