Premier League news: Palmer breaks toe in freak home mishap and Iraola unfazed by Semenyo links

1. Palmer sidelined again after accident at home

Cole Palmer’s long-awaited comeback from a groin injury has been put back after the Chelsea forward fractured a toe in a freak accident at home, ruling him out for a further two weeks. Palmer was close to returning to first-team action after two months on the sidelines, only to stub the small toe on his left foot on a door on Wednesday night.

Chelsea, who visit Burnley in the Premier League in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, had hoped the 23-year-old would be available for Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Barcelona or next weekend’s home game against Arsenal.

“Unfortunately he had an accident at home two days ago and he hit his toe,” Enzo Maresca, the Chelsea head coach, said. “It’s nothing important, but for sure he’s not back next week. “The only thing we know is that he’s not available for this week, next week. He’s not available for tomorrow for sure, Barcelona for sure, Arsenal for sure. It can happen. I wake up many times during the night to go to the toilet. I hit my head, my legs, my everything, so it can happen.

“He was very close [to a return]. He was almost back with after the groin [issue] and that’s very good news. And then again, he had this small problem and hopefully it’s nothing important.”

Maresca said Palmer was not wearing a protective boot. “The last time I saw him was yesterday morning, and he was without socks, without flip-flops, he was without nothing. He was working OK. The problem is that it’s a small toe, so the contact with boots can be painful.”

Palmer has avoided surgery on his groin and is keen to get back on the pitch after a frustrating start to the season. Chelsea have tried to manage him with rest. But time is of the essence for Palmer given that his place in England’s squad for next summer’s World Cup is on the line. England have heavy competition for places in attacking midfield, although there is confidence that Thomas Tuchel will find space for Palmer. Jacob Steinberg

2. Iraola not worried by Semenyo’s future

Andoni Iraola has insisted he is not worried about speculation that the Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo could leave the club in January. It emerged during the international window that the 25-year-old Ghana international has a £65m release clause in the five-year contract he signed this summer.

However, when asked about the much-coveted Semenyo’s future before Saturday’s Premier League match with West Ham, Iraola said: “We are in November. Antoine is our player, he will continue being our player.

“In January, you can ask me about the market in January, but right now I’m not worried about the next markets. It’s something that especially you know that I hate to talk about in August, January, the moments when the market is open, but it is not one of those moments. It’s November. ” PA Media

3. Kolo Muani boost for Spurs' derby hopes

Thomas Frank has been given a major boost for Sunday’s trip to Arsenal with Randal Kolo Muani available for the north London derby.

The forward suffered a blow to his jaw in Spurs’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United on 8 November and subsequently missed international duty with France. He joined a lengthy injury list for Tottenham, but Frank provided positive updates on a number of players and Kolo Muani can unexpectedly play after he was fitted with a protective mask in training.

“Pape [Sarr] trained today, ready and available. Lucas [Bergvall] trained today and is available. Kolo Muani, yes trained today, available – of course he has a mask he needs to play with,” Frank revealed.

The defenders Ben Davies and Kota Takai also returned to training this week and centre-back Radu Dragusin took part in a behind-closed-doors friendly earlier this month to step up his recovery after he sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in January. Archie Gray is another back and Mohammed Kudus, who missed international duty with Ghana, has also returned to training in a further boost for Frank. James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Dejan Kulusevski remain sidelined along with Dominic Solanke, who has not featured since August 23 and had minor surgery on his ankle last month. PA Media

4. Howe hopes goals reignite Woltemade

Eddie Howe wants more from Nick Woltemade as Newcastle attempt to kick-start their season after the international break. The Magpies return to Premier League action against Manchester City on Saturday sitting 14th in the table with their domestic form in stark contrast to their performances in the Champions League.

Germany international Woltemade, the club’s record £69m summer signing from Stuttgart, scored five times in his first eight appearances for the club. But he has managed just one in his last six and the head coach is hoping the three he scored in World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Slovakia will set the 23-year-old off and running once again.

Nick Woltemade celebrates after scoring for Germany against Luxembourg

“I have to say considering the lack of training time we’ve had with him, I think he’s done really, really well and he’s tried to implement as well as he can what we’ve asked him to do,” Howe said. “He started off really well in terms of goals. I think those goals in the international break will do him the world of good as well.

“Confidence is everything to a centre-forward, so I think he can be really pleased with himself. But we have to demand more and we need more from him in the sense that he’s the focal point of the team. It’s such an important position. Everything will come around him in terms of our performance, so there are big expectations on him, there’s big pressure on his shoulders. He’s handled that really well so far. Snd then, of course, the team behind him have to deliver for him as well and we haven’t done that well enough in the last couple of away games.” PA Media

5. Carvalho blow caps Brentford's ‘tough week’

Keith Andrews admitted it has been a “tough week” at Brentford following the news that Fabio Carvalho will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury. The Bees’ head coach revealed the Portuguese midfielder, who has made 33 appearances for the west London club since joining from Liverpool in August 2024, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training last week.

“It’s been a tough week for obvious reasons – it’s devastating for him,” Andrews said. “I feel for him. He’s someone who I have a lot of respect for as a man. This season he’s not been given as many opportunities as I ideally would have liked. He knows that. Fabio knows he’ll get support from everybody at the football club during this difficult period.”

Fabio Carvalho scores Brentford’s fourth goal at Blundell Park

Igor Thiago took his tally this season to nine goals in 12 appearances with a brace in the 3-1 win over Newcastle before the international break, seemingly bolstering his hopes of a call-up for Brazil. “He’s so important for us and the way we play,” added Andrews, who will also be without Josh Dasilva and Antoni Milambo for Saturday’s visit to Brighton. PA Media

6. Silva does not fear sack as pressure mounts

Marco Silva insists he remains “on the same page” with Fulham’s hierarchy as speculation mounts over his future at Craven Cottage. Silva is yet to respond to a new contract offer made by the club this week, with his deal set to expire at the end of the season.

“We have been on the same page. Of course we don’t agree on everything – I think in your job you don’t agree on everything,” said Silva before Saturday’s Premier League match with Sunderland. “If you have been achieving great results all the seasons we have been here and sometimes overachieving as well, you cannot do it if you are not on the same page.”

Fulham manager Marco Silva sees his side falter against Fulham

Silva was leading the list of top-flight managers in danger of the sack two weeks ago, after his side’s dismal defeat at Everton extended their poor run to five defeats from their last six games. He bemoaned the limited opportunity to put things right, with most of his squad jetting off on international duty shortly after the 2-0 loss at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

“It was probably a moment to be together after the last match because we were clear with each other at the end of the game that it was not good enough,” added Silva. “We are ready to go but in terms of preparation it is not the ideal scenario. But it will be the same for our opponents, and we have to be ready to give a completely different answer to the last game.” PA Media