Chelsea star Cole Palmer issues cryptic response to Ballon d'Or ranking

Cole Palmer has issued a stark response to his Ballon d’Or ranking. TheChelseaand England star was nominated for the award and ended up finishing eighth, making him the highest-ranked Englishman in the running.

England captain Harry Kane ranked 13th, while Real Madrid midfielderJude Bellingham sat at 23rd. Arsenalstar Declan Rice was slightly further down the list at 27th.

Palmer had an intriguing reaction to his ranking on Monday in the aftermath of the glitzy ceremony in Paris. He shared the list of votes on his Instagram alongside a stack of bricks emoji.

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Palmer’s ranking comes after a sensational season for the 23-year-old at Chelsea. He scored 18 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions last season as the Blues won the Europa Conference League, the Club World Cup and secured a place in the Premier League top four.

Palmer has also started the new season in fine form with two goals in his opening four games of the campaign in all competitions. And while he will be keen to continue his good form, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has warned that the forward is dealing with an injury issue ahead of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Lincoln City.

Speaking ahead of that game, the Italian head coach said: “Cole is probably the only one that we need to assess a little bit. The rest are okay, just recovering from last week.

“He did already a huge effort last Saturday to try and play the game. He tried Saturday morning, he was not 100 per cent but he wants to be there to help teammates in that kind of game.

“It was painful so we decided to change. We await day-by-day to see how he is and then decide what we do."

On the possibility of Palmer needing surgery, the Italian said: “The medical staff didn’t mention to me about surgery until today. I don’t know if it will be in the next weeks, but I don’t think so to be honest.”

Following Tuesday’s showdown with Lincoln, Chelsea will then turn their attentions back to Saturday’s Premier League clash with Brighton at Stamford Bridge. They then remain at home for their second Champions League match of the season against Benfica in midweek.

That game will see former boss Jose Mourinho return to west London, having been appointed by the Portuguese giants earlier this month following his exit from former side Fenerbahce.

Chelsea, like Palmer, have enjoyed a positive start to the new season. They have lost just one out of their opening six games in all competitions - that solitary reverse coming at the hands of Bayern Munich.