2 days ago
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Chelsea were beaten at Elland Road on Wednesday evening and there was one notable absentee from the travelling Blues squad
Wesley Fofana is likely to return to the Chelsea squad for Saturday afternoon's Premier League trip to Bournemouth after missing Wednesday night's defeat at Leeds United.
The 24-year-old defender was not part of the travelling Blues contingent for their 3-1 loss at Elland Road, with some supporters concerned the centre-back had suffered another injury. That, however, is not the case, with Fofana being left out of the squad because head coach Enzo Maresca is trying to manage his work load, football.london understands.
Fofana, signed for a £75million package in the summer of 2022, has struggled with injury problems throughout his time at Stamford Bridge and Maresca is trying to get him as fit as possible for a hectic period of fixtures. The Frenchman has been enormously impressive in recent appearances for Chelsea, including in the victory over Barcelona last week and the draw with Arsenal at the weekend.
The former Leicester City defender completed 90 minutes in both matches, and Maresca decided to give him a rest on Wednesday evening. Fofana, though, is expected to be part of the squad that travels down to the south coast to take on Bournemouth this weekend.
Maresca is trying his best to manage the minutes of Fofana, as well as Reece James, both of whom have struggled with consistent muscular injuries in recent seasons. Romeo Lavia, too, but the midfielder is currently sidelined with a quad problem. Fofana recently expressed his gratitude to the head coach for the way he is handling his fitness.
"In football, it is hard to take your time because there is a game every three days, but he [Maresca] protects me and he pushes me in a good way," Fofana said in an interview a few weeks ago. "I had hamstring surgery and you need to be careful when you come back.
"He doesn't take risks with me because he wants, step by step, for me to be able to play every three days. The target is to play every game; we need to carefully progress step by step towards that.
"Also, he protects me because of the type of player I am: aggressive, fast, not scared to have duels on the pitch. I understand it, and it's what I feel as well. I agree with it. The most important is to continue to progress."
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