Wesley Fofana injury: Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says defender could miss rest of season with hamstring problem | Football News

Chelsea were dealt a major blow in their attempt to revive their faltering form after coach Enzo Maresca admitted that centre-back Wesley Fofana could miss the rest of the season.

The 24-year-old has not played since being substituted in the second half of last month’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

Maresca could not say whether or not his torn hamstring would require surgery, but it is nonetheless a devastating blow for a player who missed all of last season with an ACL injury.

“Unfortunately, he may miss this season,” the head coach said. “We don’t know exactly the whole season but it is certain that he may miss part of it.”

It was initially hoped that Fofana, who has formed an impressive partnership at centre-back alongside Levi Colwell this season, would be out for no more than a few weeks.

That assessment was made in the days following the win over Villa at Stamford Bridge on December 1, but further testing and analysis appear to have doomed the France international to another season severely curtailed by injury.

He has made just 15 Premier League appearances in the 2022-23 season, his first season after joining from Leicester in a £75m deal, while his time at the King Power Stadium has also been disrupted by fitness issues.

Complicating his loss is the continued absence of Benoit Badiashile, who replaced Fofana against Villa and played in the 4-3 win over Tottenham on December 8 but is expected to miss until February.

“Every time you ask me about Wes I have said many times that I like Wes, because he is the kind of defender who gives you the opportunity to press, be aggressive and leave in one game with (Ollie) Watkins.” Mariska said.

“We did exactly the same thing when Wes got hurt with Benoit, one-on-one with (Dominic) Solanke and [both defenders] That can be dealt with. This type of defender is very difficult to find. Now they are both injured and we are trying to find different solutions.

“Wes is certainly a huge loss.

“I don’t think this type of injury can be compared to other injuries. This injury is muscular and he didn’t have any muscular problems before, so it’s completely different. It’s a bit unlucky, but he will come back and he will come back.” “To be as good as he was before his injury.”

Maresca is also set to miss Romeo Lavia for Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace, with the midfielder’s absence so far coinciding with a loss of form that has dropped Chelsea from second to fourth, although captain Reece James could start for the first time since November. .

“Football is about the players,” Maresca said. “We can have the best ideas but if you don’t have the players, you face difficulties.

He added, “Romeo is a great player for us and we are certainly a better team with him. We have won matches without him and lost matches with him, but we are definitely better with him.”

“We’re also a better team with Reece James. It’s all about the players. I can give them the tools on how to react, but if they’re not good enough we won’t win.”

Chelsea transfer plans for January

Chelsea have an unresolved new striker issue remaining from the summer. They were pursued Victor Osimhen Until the deadline but no agreement was reached and he is now on loan at Galatasaray.

Since then they couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season or a better performance Nicholas Jacksonwho was excellent as a central striker. This may have changed the thinking about what kind of new striker they need.

Impressive Ipswich killer Liam Delap Known to Chelsea’s recruitment chief Joe Shields and coach Maresca from their time together in Manchester City’s academy and a number of top clubs as what they have seen from Delap so far this season.

Chelsea are not expected to do much unless other players leave and they certainly will Ben Chilwell After being frozen out of the team Carne Chukwuemeka It is something else, while there is also speculation around it Christopher Nkunku and Axel Disasi.

Read Chelsea’s full transfer plans here