Chelsea’s cautious Wesley Fofana strategy revealed | OneFootball

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Wesley Fofana (23) since joining Chelsea from Leicester City. Following his move in the summer of 2022, he spent much of his debut campaign on the sideline with knee injuries before then tearing his cruciate ligament and missing almost the entirety of last season.

Speaking to L’Équipe, Fofana’s entourage revealed that the France international had doubts about returning to his former self after suffering a meniscus injury in February, which was never revealed by Chelsea, but which hampered his recovery considerably. “That was the most difficult moment because we felt as though he was questioning ‘Will I come back?” said his entourage.

Maresca has ‘fallen in love’ with Fofana

Over the course of the pre-season, there was a lot of caution shown regarding Fofana, and at one point, there was the hypothesis of a loan, with Olympique de Marseille sporting director Medhi Benatia making contact. However, a departure was never on the cards, with L’Équipe reporting that new manager Enzo Maresca had “fallen in love” with the centre-back.

Fofana is once again starting to show his best form for Chelsea and has featured seven times this season. However, L’Équipe have revealed that the Premier League club are following a strict one-game-per-week strategy with the defender, so as to not provoke another injury. This strategy is to remain in place until the start of 2025.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle