Chelsea have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to revive their flagging form after head coach Enzo Maresca admitted 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 the tear in his hamstring will require surgery, but it is nevertheless a damaging blow for a player who missed all of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
“Unfortunately, he could be out for the entire season,” the head coach said. “We don't know exactly for the whole season, but it is certain that he will be out for part of the season.”
It was initially hoped that Fofana, who had formed an impressive partnership in central defense this season alongside Levi Colwill, would not be out for more than a few weeks.
That assessment was made in the days following the win against Villa at Stamford Bridge on December 1, but further testing and analysis appears to have condemned the France international to yet another season severely curtailed by injury.
He made just 15 Premier League appearances in 2022-23, his first season after joining from Leicester on a £75million contract, while his time at the King Power Stadium was also marred by fitness issues.
His loss is compounded by the continued absence of Benoit Badiashile, who replaced Fofana against Villa and played in the 4-3 win against Tottenham on December 8 but is expected to be out until February.
“Every time you asked me about Wes, I often said that I'm in love with Wes because he's the kind of defender who gives you the opportunity to press, be aggressive and go one-on-one with (Ollie ) Watkins.” Maresca said.
“We did exactly the same thing when Wes got injured with Benoit, one on one with (Dominic) Solanke and [both defenders] can deal with that. It is very difficult to find such a defender. Now they are both injured and we are trying to find different solutions.
“Certainly, Wes is a huge loss.
“I don't think these types of injuries are comparable to the rest. This is a muscle injury and he hasn't had any muscle problems before, so it's very different. It's a bit of bad luck, but he will come back and he will come back.” be good as he was before he was hurt.”
Maresca will also have to make do without Romeo Lavia during the trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday. The midfielder's absence so far has coincided with a loss of form that has seen Chelsea drop from second to fourth, although captain Reece James was able to start for the first time since November.
“Football is all about players,” Maresca said. “We can have the best ideas, but if you don't have the players, you struggle.
“Romeo is a top player for us and we are certainly a better team with him. We have won games without him and lost with him, but we are certainly better with him.”
“We're also a better team with Reece James. It's all about players. I can give them the tools on how to behave, but if they're not good enough, we're not going to win.”
Chelsea January transfer window plans
Chelsea have the unresolved issue of a new striker remaining after the summer. They pursued Victor Osimhen until the deadline, but no deal was agreed and he is now on loan at Galatasaray.
Since then, they could hardly have asked for a better start to the season or better form from Nicolas Jackson, who has performed excellently as a central striker. This may have changed the thinking on what kind of new striker they need.
Ipswich's impressive hitman Liam Delap is known to Chelsea head of recruitment Joe Shields and head coach Maresca from their time together in the academy at Manchester City and a number of bigger clubs as they have seen from Delap so far this season.
Not much else is expected from Chelsea unless other players leave, and one who certainly will is Ben Chilwell after being left out of the squad. Carney Chukwuemeka is another, while there is also speculation surrounding Christopher Nkunku and Axel Disasi.
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