Cole Palmer dealt FPL managers an early Gameweek 2 blow when he was injured in the warm-up ahead of Chelsea&#8217;s 5-1 win against West Ham tonight (Friday, August 22).
The game&#8217;s most selected player, in around 58% of teams, was initially named in the Blues&#8217; starting 11 &#8211; only to be seen leaving the warm-up shortly before kick-off.
It&#8217;s set to be a long week ahead for Palmer owners, who could face a difficult decision ahead of Gameweek 3.

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<h2>What&#8217;s the latest on Palmer?</h2>
Enzo Maresca confirmed after the match that the midfielder had been suffering from an issue in the run-up to the game. He said:
<blockquote>&#8220;Cole in the last four or five days was not 100%. He tried the warm-up but he felt something. We preferred not to take any risks. We will see if it&#8217;s something important or not.&#8221;</blockquote>
The Chelsea boss then said it was a groin problem, adding:
<blockquote>&#8220;[In the]Palace game, he was not 100% but he tried to make a big effort for the club, the fans and the team. He tried tonight but it was not very good.&#8221;</blockquote>
Palmer watched the West Ham game from the bench.
FPL managers who own him will now be relying on their first bench player &#8211; and in many cases, their vice-captain, in his absence.
<div id="attachment_74190" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-74190" class="size-full wp-image-74190" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/playerstats-Palmer-bordered.jpeg" alt="" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/playerstats-Palmer-bordered.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/playerstats-Palmer-bordered-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/playerstats-Palmer-bordered-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Cole Palmer&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></div>
<h2>Is Palmer a sell in FPL?</h2>
FPL managers have moved fast &#8211; the 23-year-old has already been moved out of more than 66,000 teams since the 18:30 deadline.
It&#8217;s not yet significant enough to suggest he will drop in price soon but keep an eye on our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-price-rises">price changes predictor</a> in the coming hours and days as things can change quickly.
It&#8217;s not surprising to see knee-jerk reactions already &#8211; but seasoned FPL managers know that patience is often the best approach, even if it means accepting a price drop.
Palmer has not been ruled out of Gameweek 3 and it seems like his withdrawal from the starting 11 was precautionary.
Maresca&#8217;s comments clearly indicate an ongoing issue though, so <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/premier-league-predicted-lineups">pre-match press conferences</a> ahead of next week&#8217;s fixtures will be an important milestone.
We&#8217;ll keep you up to date with all the latest news &#8211; including advice on whether Palmer is a sell &#8211; nearer to the Gameweek 3 deadline.
<div id="attachment_74307" style="width: 912px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-74307" class="size-full wp-image-74307" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Palmer-price.jpg" alt="Cole Palmer's price change status" width="902" height="288" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Palmer-price.jpg 902w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Palmer-price-300x96.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Palmer-price-768x245.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 902px) 100vw, 902px" />Cole Palmer&#8217;s price change status</div>
<h2>What else happened in the West Ham v Chelsea game?</h2>
West Ham 1 (0.94 xG) &#8211; 5 (2.93 xG) Chelsea 
<ul>
<li>Joao Pedro ⚽🅰️🅰️</li>
<li>Enzo Fernandez ⚽🅰️</li>
<li>Pedro Neto ⚽</li>
<li>Lucas Paqueta ⚽</li>
<li>Moises Caicedo ⚽</li>
<li>Trevoh Chalobah ⚽</li>
<li>El Hadji Malick Diouf 🅰️</li>
<li>Estevao 🅰️</li>
<li>Marc Cucurella 🅰️</li>
</ul>
Palmer aside, it was a delightful &#8211; or despairing &#8211; watch depending on your outlook.
Joao Pedro owners had much to celebrate, with a goal, two assists and a 15 point haul.
The forward played the full 90 minutes, starting alongside Liam Delap, rewarding owners who stuck with him through his Gameweek 1 blank and 73rd minute substitution in Gameweek 1.
Pedro is in 52% of teams, with FPL managers split over his appeal because of doubts over how many minutes he would play. A further hike in ownership looms.
It was a dismal evening for Graham Potter&#8217;s Hammers, who had gone 1-0 up inside six minutes.
A Lucas Paqueta strike from distance &#8211; registering just 0.01 expected goals (xG) &#8211; game them the lead, with new left wing-back El Hadji Malick Diouf getting the assist.
But it was all downhill from there, with Chelsea 3-1 up by half-time through Pedro, Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez goals.
Moises Caicedo made it 4-1 before Trevoh Chalobah completed the hammering.
There was an assist for Marc Cucurella to make up for the early clean-sheet wipeout and Palmer&#8217;s replacement Estevao also set up a goal.
West Ham have now lost two games in succession, with an expected goals conceded (xGC) of 3.6.
<div id="attachment_74308" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-74308" class="size-full wp-image-74308" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Pedro-3.jpg" alt="Joao Pedro. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Pedro-3.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Pedro-3-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Pedro-3-768x518.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Joao Pedro. Picture by Getty Images</div>
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FPL Gameweek 2: Palmer injury latest, Pedro hauls in 5-1 Chelsea win

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