Chelsea have seen injuries threaten to completely derail their season in recent weeks as Enzo Maresca has been forced to get creative with his team selection.
Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu’s absence has left no recognised first team striker available, while Romeo Lavia’s repetetive injury woes have allowed little rotation in the middle of the park.
Recent games have seen this issues continue to mount. Noni Madueke is out with a hamstring problem, while Trevoh Chalobah will miss a week after being forced off early on against Aston Villa.
Wesley Fofana will be in Chelsea squad to face Southampton
Centre-back is proving to be an issue for the Blues at the moment, with Benoit Badiashile also on the treatment table and unable to provide an option to rotate with the out of form Levi Colwill.
Another centre-back who has been absent for a prolonged period of time is Wesley Fofana. The Frenchman has not featured since the start of December after hobbling off at Stamford Bridge.
The manager was origianlly fearful his injury could be very serious. Enzo Maresca said Fofana may not play again this season, although the player himself disagreed with this fact.
It looks as if he may have been more accurate on his return timeline than his boss. Fabrice Hawkins has claimed that Fofana will be in the Chelsea squad for the upcoming game against Southampton in the Premier League.
He said: “Exclusive #Chelsea – Wesley Fofana is back in the group tonight against Southampton.”
Maresca stated Fofana was progressing well in his recovery, but certainly did not hint that he would be in line for a return this quick to action. He was thought to still be a few weeks away from coming back.
Wesley Fofana return is bad news for Trevoh Chalobah
It is likely that the former Leicester City man is not rushed into action after missing nearly three months of action, with a number of long-term injuries in his past too.
However, Chelsea will be hoping he can become a regular at the back for them, with Maresca a big fan of Fofana and seeing him in his ideal centre-back pairing.
This would likely see Chalobah drop out of the starting side again, potentially putting his future at Stamford Bridge in doubt as he fights for his future.
Chalobah accepts that he has no long-term prospects at Stamford Bridge, and if Fofana can remain fit it only puts another dent in those fading hopes.
