Chelsea and Wesley Fofana have been left relieved as it has emerged that the French defender is only set for another month on the sidelines after he picked up an injury in a friendly ahead of the Premier League restart.
The centre-back, who joined the Blues from Leicester City in a deal worth £70m over the summer, only appeared four times in the Premier League before picking up a serious knee injury against AC Milan in the Champions League, which he was recovering from over the World Cup.
But, stepping up his recovery, Fofana was forced off in a behind-closed-doors friendly against fellow London side Brentford, which the Blues ran out 5-1 winners in.
And it was feared that the 22-year-old could be sidelined for a significant time with a recurrence of his former problem, but it has since been revealed by Fofana himself that he will miss a maximum of a month of action as he returns to full fitness once more.
Maybe the injury to Wesley Fofana was not as bad as we first feared. pic.twitter.com/9VeFFS60wQ
— Frank Khalid OBE (@FrankKhalidUK) December 20, 2022
Should he miss a month, it would rule Fofana out of Premier League clashes with Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Fulham and Crystal Palace, as well as the FA Cup tie with Pep Guardiola’s side.
There is better news on Reece James, however. The Englishman, who began training at the beginning of the month, is expected to be in contention for the clash with Bournemouth two days after Christmas, when Graham Potter and co. begin the task of overturning an eight-point deficit to qualify for Champions League next season.
