Palestra ready for Chelsea official debut, but Italy call uncertain

Palestra ready for Chelsea official debut, but Italy call uncertain Marco Palestra finally resumed training with Chelsea today and could make his return to the field this weekend, but it could affect his Italy call-up for the Nations League. The former Atalanta and Cagliari wing-back had been very impressive in pre-season after his transfer to London worth in the region of €60m including add-ons. However, he sustained a knock in the final friendly and hasn’t yet made a single competitive appearance for the Blues. Palestra yet to make Chelsea debut SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 28: Marco Palestra of Chelsea FC heads the ball during the Sydney Super Cup match between Western Sydney Wanderers and Chelsea FC at Accor Stadium on July 28, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) It is reported that Palestra was back in training today for the first time in several weeks and is not expected to manage more than at best a second half cameo in this weekend’s Premier League match. The extent of the injury , or even which part of the leg it affected, has not been clarified by Chelsea sources. ZENICA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – MARCH 31: Tarik Muharemovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina competes for the ball with Marco Palestra of Italy during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-offs match between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Italy at Stadion Bilino Polje on March 31, 2026 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images) It remains to be seen if he will even be part of Roberto Mancini’s Italy squad for the Nations League fixtures, seeing as he has not played at all so far this season. The 21-year-old only made his senior Italy debut in March 2026 and has two caps for his country.