Chelsea handed Wesley Fofana fitness update ahead of Liverpool clash – Reports
Chelsea have received an update on Wesley Fofana’s fitness as they prepare to face Liverpool in the Premier League on October 20, after the international break. Since moving to Stamford Bridge in 2022, Fofana has spent a huge chunk of time at the west London club on the sidelines due to injuries. To put it into perspective, he missed the entirety of last season (51 games) for the Blues.
However, the French defender has featured in all Premier League games for the Blues this season. While Fofana played the entirety of Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest on Sunday (October 6), there were concerns that he had been battling a blow to his right shin earlier this season. Consequently, his availability for France in the Nations League this month was thrown into uncertainty.
After the Blues drew with Forest on Sunday, RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins reported that Wesley Fofana would undergo tests on his right shin on Monday evening at Clairefontaine at Chelsea’s behest.
In what would come as music to the ears of Chelsea and the fans, the tests did not reveal any significant injury concerns. This allowed the 23-year-old to join the France national team for their upcoming Nations League fixtures against Israel and Belgium.
However, this development is not entirely positive for Chelsea, as Wesley Fofana will miss their next Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield. He, along with Marc Cucurella, received a yellow card during the match against Nottingham Forest, their fifth of the season. This automatically triggers a one-match suspension for both players.
Enzo Maresca believes Chelsea can cope with suspensions due to his rotation policy
Pointing to his rotation policy, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca exuded confidence that his squad can effectively navigate player suspensions. Defenders Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella received yellow cards against Nottingham Forest. Thus, Maresca faces the challenge of filling the gaps left by their absence in the upcoming fixture.
However, he remains optimistic about the team's depth and the ability to maintain the performance levels. He said (via The Independent):
“We have 25 first-team players. All clubs have around that number. I don’t think it’s something just for us. The way we try to do things is to try to share minutes with all of them. The reason is because they deserve it."
“The ones that played (against Gent) did well and probably deserved (to play) again, but there was another 11 that did a fantastic job against Brighton. We try to use all of them in the best way. When you have an injury or red card, like now we don’t have Wes and Marc, we are going to use some of the guys that today were not in the first 11," he added.