Wesley Fofana required surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury following medical assessments and did not travel to America on Chelsea's pre-season tour; The 22-year-old broke his leg in 2021 when playing for Leicester and struggled with injury in his first Chelsea season last term
Tuesday 18 July 2023 19:02, UK
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has had surgery after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
Speaking on Chelsea's pre-season tour of the United States, manager Mauricio Pochettino said he was hopeful Fofana would return from injury at some point this season.
He said: "Really sad, really bad news. We feel so sad. All we can do is to help him. We wish him all the best and hope it's as soon as possible [that he can] be with the team again this season.
"It's tough but we need to keep going, the competition is there, less than one month to the Premier League, the competition doesn't wait for anyone, and we need to compete.
"I hope he can be ready to play [this season]. We have seen all the information and know it can be difficult. The problem is different bodies evolve in different ways.
"Hopefully everything goes well with his recovery and he can be ready as soon as possible before the end of the season."
Fofana has suffered several injury setbacks in the past and broke his leg playing for former club Leicester in a pre-season friendly two years ago.
The France international returned to action in March 2022 before sealing a £75m move to Chelsea later that summer. But he then suffered a knee injury that ruled him out for more than two months and became a recurring problem once he returned to training.
Fofana is set to miss a significant part of the upcoming campaign which leaves Chelsea light at the back.
Pochettino can pick from Levi Colwill, Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile, who is recovering from a hamstring injury sustained last season, to fill the centre-back positions but this setback might force Chelsea into the transfer market.
A Chelsea statement read: "The 22-year-old did not travel to America for the club's pre-season tour due to specialist medical assessments, which unfortunately confirmed that an operation would be required.
"Wesley will now begin his recovery and work with the club's medical department at Cobham during his rehabilitation phase."
July 19: Chelsea vs Wrexham, kick-off 10pm (Kenan Stadium, USA)
July 23: Chelsea vs Brighton, kick-off 12am (Lincoln Financial Field, USA), live on Sky Sports
July 27: Chelsea vs Newcastle, kick-off 1.15am (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, USA), live on Sky Sports
July 30: Chelsea vs Fulham, kick-off 7.45pm (FedEx Field, USA), live on Sky Sports
August 3: Chelsea vs Dortmund, kick-off 12.30am (Soldier Field, USA)
Mauricio Pochettino will take charge of Chelsea for the first time when they start the 2023/24 Premier League season at home to Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, on Sunday August 13.
Chelsea then head to London rivals West Ham on August 19 before welcoming newly promoted Luton Town to Stamford Bridge on August 26.
Pochettino, who begins his role with the Blues on July 1, will visit his former club Tottenham on November 4 with the return fixture scheduled for February 24.
Chelsea face a daunting run of fixtures starting in October and ending in December when they play Arsenal (h), Brentford (h), Tottenham (a), Man City (h), Newcastle (a), Brighton (h) and Man Utd (a).
Over Christmas, Chelsea visit Wolves on December 23 before hosting Crystal Palace on Boxing Day and then travelling to Luton on December 30. The final day of the season on May 19 sees Chelsea finish at home against Bournemouth.
