Chelsea and Enzo Maresca are concerned one of their rising stars is on the brink of injury having been picked to represent his country in the upcoming international break.
Palmer sparks Chelsea concern
Mercurial midfielder Cole Palmer sparked widespread concern among the Chelsea fanbase in the build up to their 1-1 draw with Arsenal after suffering a knee injury in their win over Manchester United the week before.
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The Englishman, who is key to the Blues’ early season success, was caught on the knee by a reckless Lisandro Martinez challenge and was a major doubt for Chelsea’s home tie with the Gunners. However, he was named in the starting XI and played the full 90 minutes as his side held their out-of-form London rivals to a 1-1 draw courtesy of a stunning effort from Pedro Neto.
But that concern returned after the final whistle, when Palmer was spotted limping out of Stamford Bridge, casting doubt on his availability for Lee Carsley’s England squad, though Maresca moved fast to allay those fears.
“He is painful now but it doesn’t look something important,” the Blues boss explained.
Now, there is another member of the Chelsea squad that is causing Maresca concern ahead of the international break.
Chelsea defender set for tests
That comes as a report from France suggests that Maresca and Chelsea were concerned that Wesley Fofana would pick up another injury should he head on international duty with France, as he looks to keep his prize defender fit amid injury concerns. Fofana suffered consecutive knee issues upon his arrival at Chelsea from Leicester City, but has managed to leave that behind him this season, and has emerged as a key part of Chelsea’s backline.
Nonetheless, Maresca has been careful with the defender, leaving him out of the Conference League squad and minimising his gametime as much as possible, with reports suggesting he has agreed to play him just once a week until 2025.
Wesley Fofana so far this season | |
Appearances | 10 |
Goals | 0 |
Yellow Cards | 6 |
Despite this, it has been claimed that Fofana, who played 90 minutes against Arsenal, ended the game with “knee inflammation”, which has rung alarm bells in west London.
Indeed, “Enzo Maresca’s side want the player to undergo tests this morning [Monday] in London”, and it has now been confirmed that Fofana will play no part in France’s upcoming internationals, with Inter defender Benjamin Pavard called up as his replacement.
Of course, this will come as good news for Chelsea fans, provided that it is indeed only inflammation, and they will be keen to see Fofana avoid any further unnecessary injuries after such a long spell on the sidelines.
He will have plenty of time to recover, with Chelsea’s next game not for almost two weeks when they visit his former side Leicester City, a reunion which he will be hoping to be fit for.
