Chelsea Faces Juventus Without Key Players Palmer and Colwill

Chelsea’s pre-season tour took an unexpected twist in Hong Kong, with Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill both missing from the squad to face Juventus after picking up minor knocks during the club’s demanding schedule.

The decision, taken on medical advice, was precautionary. It still carried weight. Palmer, in particular, has been the face of Chelsea’s attacking spark on this tour, and his absence left a noticeable gap.

Palmer halted just as he was catching fire

Since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Palmer has rarely lost momentum. That continued into the Sydney Super Cup, where the 24-year-old came off the bench to supply an assist in a wild 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, then started in the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

Here, though, he had to watch.

Pitchside before kick-off, Palmer admitted his frustration at missing out because of what he called a “slight issue”, but he spoke warmly about the “amazing support” in Hong Kong. His body said no, even if everything else about his game and mood screamed yes.

For Xabi Alonso, it meant ripping up the plan on the day of a glamour friendly.

Alonso reshapes his spine

With Colwill also ruled out, Chelsea’s head coach had to improvise. Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo stepped in as the central defensive pairing, a partnership thrown together to cover the loss of one of the club’s key left-sided defenders.

Higher up the pitch, the adjustment was even more telling. Palmer’s creative influence has quickly become central to how Chelsea build attacks, so Alonso turned to Joao Pedro as his central attacking fulcrum. That switch opened the door for Danny Welbeck, the summer signing, to pull on a Chelsea shirt for the first time.

It was a lineup that told its own story: necessity, experimentation, and a nod to the future all rolled into one.

Marco Palestra and Jorrel Hato kept their places at full-back, a blend of youthful energy and growing responsibility. But the real jolt came in midfield.

A 16-year-old steps into the spotlight

Moises Caicedo, the £100m anchor, lined up alongside a teenager making his first start for the club. At just 16, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli was handed a role many far older players have waited years to taste.

Thrown into a midfield battle against Juventus, Nicoll-Jazuli’s selection underlined the club’s commitment to its academy and Alonso’s willingness to trust young talent, even in high-profile fixtures on foreign tours.

While the headline names sat in the stands, one of Cobham’s brightest prospects took his first major step.

Mudryk back from the brink

On the bench, another story simmered.

Mykhailo Mudryk, absent from Chelsea duty since November 2024, finally returned to a matchday squad. The Ukrainian winger had been serving a provisional suspension amid a doping dispute, a cloud that threatened to derail his career at the club.

That cloud lifted when the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned his four-year ban, clearing him to play again. His inclusion among the substitutes represented far more than a tactical option. It was a reset.

Alonso explained that Mudryk had gone straight from the airport to the hotel before training with the squad. The session, he said, was about feelings and emotions as much as fitness. The staff judged that 90 minutes would likely be too much, too soon, but he was fit enough to be selected—and that, in itself, felt significant.

Chelsea were “thrilled” to have “Misha” back in the group. The reaction around the squad suggested the same.

Future still uncertain for £62m winger

Mudryk’s reinstatement does not automatically settle his long-term future. Interest from elsewhere has not gone away, with several Premier League clubs monitoring the possibility of a loan move for the £62 million signing.

Chelsea, Alonso admitted, are still weighing up the best route for a player who has yet to fully ignite in blue. His return gives them a live audition over the coming weeks, whether for a second act at Stamford Bridge or a fresh start elsewhere.

Busy window, delicate balancing act

All of this unfolds against a frantic backdrop. Chelsea are closing in on what would be an 11th summer signing, even as they juggle outgoings and try to preserve a coherent core.

Fitness, just as much as transfer business, is under the microscope. Palmer and Colwill’s knocks are minor, but they arrive at a time when every training session, every friendly, is supposed to sharpen the squad for the season’s first whistle.

For those two, the mission is simple: recover quickly, regain rhythm, and be ready when the games start to count.

Chelsea’s tour has offered goals, drama, and now a few complications. The real test comes when the pre-season experiments end and Alonso has to decide which of these stories—Palmer’s form, Colwill’s reliability, Mudryk’s redemption arc, Nicoll-Jazuli’s emergence—will shape his first competitive team sheet of the campaign.