The season has not even begun and Chelsea have lost one of their key centre back Wesley Fofana to injury. Mauricio Pochettino’s debut season couldn’t have started off any worse as the Frenchman will not play any part in pre-season and will miss substantial part of the 2023-24 season.
Fofana was signed last summer for £75 million from Leicester City, becoming the second costliest defender in Premier League history. The Frenchman has endured a difficult start to life at Chelsea as he picked up a knee injury in October. The 22 year old was ruled out for two months and upon return he suffered a recurring injury which ruled him out for almost another two months. Fofana finally returned in February and was a regular part of the defence since then.
Chelsea flew to the United States of America for their pre-season tour which kicks off on 19th July when they face Wrexham FC, followed by games against Brighton, Newcastle United, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund. The Frenchman was expected to travel with the squad but he did not, raising questions over his availability.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana suffers ACL rupture
According to football.london, Fofana has undergone scans on his knee and the scans have revealed an ACL rupture. The 22 year old will have to undergo surgery as the scan results have proven to be devastating for CFC ahead of the start of the season.
The ACL rupture and subsequent surgery will now rule him out for months, leaving Pochettino with even lesser options at the back. Chelsea’s centre back options now consist of Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah. Benoit Badiashile suffered a hamstring injury towards the business end of last season and is still far from return. He has not travelled to USA with the team as he continues to recover from the injury.
The ACL injury to Fofana is a huge blow to CFC as the France international was a potential starter in the backline under Pochettino. CFC cannot go into the season with just three centre backs and will now have to bank upon Badiashile recovering as quickly as possible. The ACL injury could see Fofana miss a large chunk of the 2023-24 season and the Blues could even ponder upon signing a defender in the window.
Will Wesley Fofana return before the end of 2023-24 season?