Chelsea will be without new signing Romelu Lukaku against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, according to The Athletic.

And, as to be expected, the forward’s expected Stamford Bridge absence has had a lot of Palace fans talking on social media.

The Blues announced the arrival of the Belgium superstar on Thursday evening in a deal worth £97.5m.

He returns to Chelsea after leaving for Everton back in 2014 and has signed a five-year deal with the Champions League winners.

Patrick Vieira will take charge of Palace for the first time competitively against Thomas Tuchel’s side, who look set to be without Lukaku.

David Ornstein suggested that Lukaku’s second Chelsea debut could come against Arsenal on August 22 but he is not available for the opener against Palace.

Palace fans react

The news of Lukaku’s absence against the Eagles caught the attention of these Palace fans on social media. This is what some had to say in reply…

"Thank you god"
Credit: @CpfcDan_
"Romelu Lukaku won’t be available for Chelsea against Palace this weekend, which is nice."
Credit: @HLTCO
"Nice relief, still a tough job"
"Cheers"
Credit: @DSBme2020
"Good."
Credit: @joe_cpfc_01
"He was scared of being shown up by the king"
Credit: @Adam_Palace

In other news: 'Wow', 'Oh boy' - Lots of Palace fans go wild as 'massive' news is confirmed.