Midfielder Cole Palmer will return to Chelsea's Conference League squad on Thursday for the first leg of their last-16 clash at Danish side Copenhagen, manager Enzo Maresca said.

It will be Palmer's first appearance in Europe's third-tier competition since August's qualifiers against Servette, having been left out of the league phase to manage his workload.

The 22-year-old England international joins defender Trevoh Chalobah and January signing Mathis Amougou for the knockout stages. Defender Wesley Fofana and midfielder Romeo Lavia were left out of the squad travelling to Denmark.

"Since we started, all the decisions we took are all trying to protect players. With Cole and Wesley, Romeo (the decision) is exactly the same," Maresca told reporters on Thursday.

"We can change players in the squad and we added Cole for the final part of the season. If he is in the squad, he can play minutes, no doubt. Cole is always happy to play games, even training sessions."

Palmer, who has 14 goals and six assists in 30 appearances this season, did not score in his last seven games in all competitions, but the manager said he was content with the player's performance.

"I'm happy with the way Cole is, even in the last game (4-0 home win against Southampton) or Aston Villa away (2-1 loss). I know in some moments, he is not always going to score, but it's normal," Maresca said.

Chelsea reached the last 16 after topping the league phase rankings and the Italian manager stressed that the Conference League is as important as the Premier League at this stage.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is set for his Conference League debut, taking over from Filip Jorgensen, who started the last six matches.