Chelsea's Pre-Season Setback: Palmer and Colwill Miss Juventus Match

Chelsea’s pre-season meeting with Juventus in Hong Kong was supposed to be another showcase for Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill. Instead, it became a reminder of how quickly plans can change on a gruelling summer tour.

Both were left out of the matchday squad as a precaution after picking up minor knocks, Football London reported, with Chelsea’s medical staff advising against any risk. No drama, no crisis – just the hard edge of sports science in a squad being pushed hard before the season truly starts.

For Palmer, the timing cut particularly deep. The 24-year-old has been electric since pulling on a Chelsea shirt and had already lit up the Sydney Super Cup, coming off the bench to supply an assist in a wild 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, then starting in the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham. His rhythm was building. His influence growing.

So to be told to sit this one out hurt. Speaking pitchside before kick-off, Palmer admitted: “I'm disappointed not to play due to a slight issue, but I love Hong Kong. Amazing support.” The words carried the frustration of a player who feels ready, held back only by the caution of those charged with protecting him.

Colwill’s absence, too, ripped out a key piece of Xabi Alonso’s defensive structure. The head coach had to redraw his blueprint on the fly. Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo stepped in as the central pairing, a new partnership asked to face one of Europe’s most streetwise sides. The test was immediate, the margin for error small.

Higher up the pitch, Chelsea’s entire attacking balance shifted. Without Palmer’s creativity and control between the lines, Alonso turned to Joao Pedro in a central attacking role, asking him to stitch together moves and find the spaces that Palmer so often owns. That adjustment opened the door for Danny Welbeck, the summer signing handed his Chelsea debut. A new look, a different threat, and a clear reminder that this squad is still taking shape.

Around them, the lineup told its own story. On the flanks, Marco Palestra and Jorrel Hato kept their places at full-back, a blend of continuity and promise. The real intrigue, though, sat in midfield. Moises Caicedo anchored the centre of the pitch, joined by 16-year-old academy talent Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, making his first start for the club. A teenager thrown into a high-profile friendly against Juventus: exactly the kind of stage on which Chelsea want their next generation to grow up.

While Palmer and Colwill watched from the sidelines, another narrative cut through the evening – and it came from the bench. Mykhailo Mudryk, absent from Chelsea duty since November 2024, finally reappeared on a teamsheet. The Ukrainian winger had been serving a provisional suspension amid a doping dispute, a cloud that threatened to derail his career just as it should have been taking off.

That cloud lifted when the Court of Arbitration for Sport rescinded his four-year ban, clearing him to return. Suddenly, there he was again in Chelsea colours, named among the substitutes, a visible symbol of a second chance.

Alonso did not hide the emotional weight of that moment. “We trained yesterday. He came directly from the airport to the hotel. So, yesterday was more about the feelings, more about the emotions, to be back with the players to assess the fitness level. But yes, he could play, maybe 90 minutes too early, but he can be selected. He's selected, so he can play. We are thrilled that Misha could be with us,” he told reporters.

Mudryk’s presence did not quiet the noise around his future. Even with the ban overturned, questions remain. Chelsea are still weighing the best route for a £62 million signing who has yet to fully ignite, and several Premier League clubs are circling with loan interest. His situation sits at the intersection of sentiment and strategy: a player desperate to restart, a club intent on making the right call.

All of this plays out against a backdrop of relentless movement at Stamford Bridge. The transfer window is heading into its final stretch and Chelsea are still busy in both directions, closing in on what would be an 11th summer signing while juggling exits, loans, and the careful management of their core group’s fitness.

For Palmer and Colwill, the story is simpler but no less important. Their knocks are minor, their absences precautionary, yet their importance is undeniable. Chelsea want them ready not for a pre-season night in Hong Kong, but for the first whistle of the campaign.

The tour will move on. The squad will evolve again. The real question is how different this Chelsea side will look when Palmer is back dictating attacks, Colwill is locking down the back line, and Mudryk’s future is finally decided.