Cole Palmer dominates Premier League weekend with rapid hat-trick but fitness concerns remain

COLE PALMER (£5.4m) is intent on making up for lost time.

Chelsea’s No10 has not played as much as he would have liked this season due to a persistent groin injury but he scored three goals in the space of 25 minutes to send out a message at Wolves’ expense on Saturday.

Palmer enjoyed himself against WolvesCredit: PA Palmer converted two penalties, both won by Joao Pedro (£4.2m), before he walked onto a Marc Cucurella (£3.9m) pull back to complete his hat-trick with an emphatic finish before the break.

In doing so, he became the first player in Premier League history to score three goals in the first half of a game for the third time.

The England international banked 23 Dream Team points before he was replaced by Alejandro Garnacho (£3.5m) in the 61st minute.

At the time of writing, he is comfortably Gameweek 23’s best performer, eight points clear of his closest rivals, Diogo Dalot (£3m) and Viktor Gyokeres (£5.1m).

Dream Team managers were already fully aware of Palmer’s pedigree prior to Saturdays’ blitz but every hat-trick comes as a blunt reminder.

Most gaffers would jump at the chance to select an asset of his calibre but lingering question marks over his fitness continue to confuse matters.

Confirmation that Palmer remains Chelsea’s first-choice penalty takerCredit: PA Liam Rosenior said his prize asset was “ready to play 90 minutes” in his Friday press conference but it was telling that, with the result beyond reasonable doubt, Palmer was removed just after the hour mark.

The talented midfielder will surely start at home to Leeds on Tuesday night and his owners will be hopeful of additional returns as Daniel Farke’s side are far weaker away from Elland Road.

However, it seems his workload will continue to be managed to some degree.

Speaking after the Blues’ win at Molineux, Palmer said: “When I get back to full fitness, I feel I can go another level… For now, I just manage it.”

It’s always revealing when a player speaks openly about their fitness in these terms, acknowledging their current limitations.

Generally, Dream Team bosses want their players to play as much as possible but Palmer is a special case as he has the ability to outscore his peers from fewer minutes, as evidenced by the weekend’s events.

Palmer has been frustrated by a groin injury for several monthsCredit: Getty Looking ahead, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was rested for Chelsea’s trip to Hull in the FA Cup in Gameweek 24.

But he will be considered among the strongest options in the game for Gameweek 25 (if available) when Burnley will visit Stamford Bridge — the Clarets appear to be sinking without much resistance.

Palmer has been limited to just over 1,000 minutes across all competitions this season.

He has scored eight goals on top of three assists and averages a goal involvement every 97.7 minutes.

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