After two brilliant seasons with Chelsea since his move from Manchester City, Palmer has had to overcome difficulties during the current campaign, with injuries halting his momentum in the second half of 2025.

As he rediscovered his form in recent months, a hamstring issue briefly interrupted his season again, but he returned as a second-half substitute in last week’s FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds United at Wembley.

Our No10 is now in contention for a place in the starting line-up as our Premier League campaign resumes against Nottingham Forest on Monday, with the Chelsea interim head coach hopeful Palmer can make his mark on the remainder of the season.

‘It's been a difficult period for Cole,’ said McFarlane. ‘He's had the first injury that he's pretty much ever had in his career and he's had to learn how to deal with that.

‘I think there are obviously games where he can impact more, but there have also been a lot of occasions when he's created a lot of good chances for players, and he can't control whether they’re finished.

‘I do think he's had some really good games in the last three months and it's just a case of building that consistency. I'm really pleased with Cole. He shows us his talent every single day, his energy and his enthusiasm to play, and he's still a top player, one of the best in the world for me.

‘So I have no concerns over Cole being ready to impact games from now to the end of the season and, hopefully, in the World Cup in big moments for England.’

McFarlane has been familiar with Palmer’s talents longer than most, having previously worked in the Manchester City academy, where the striker’s career began.

Although they didn’t work together directly during that time, he saw the same creativity back then which has made Cole such a popular player with the Chelsea supporters now.

‘In my first season at City, Cole was in the Under-21s, and he was literally just on the brink of breaking into the first team,’ McFarlane added. ‘So I hadn't worked with Cole previously, other than watching him dominate Under-21s football and then break into the first team.

‘There's not much difference, in all honesty. He's the same person, he plays the game with the same freedom. We've all watched Cole Palmer enough to see the freedom that he plays the game with, and he sees things that other people don't see.

‘It was very similar then, he's just doing it at a higher level, against a higher level of opposition, now, but very much the same type of player.’

Hopefully that vision and talent will be on display once again, when Chelsea host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Monday.