Chelsea will be relieved that Wesley Fofana is only out for a few weeks after damaging his knee in the 3-0 victory against AC Milan last week in a match where he had earlier scored.
That is according to Dean Jones, who was speaking in light of Graham Potter’s recent update on the stricken defender.
What’s the word?
In recent days, the Chelsea manager told the club’s official website that Fofana’s injury was “not as bad as we thought after the game” and that there is a possibility of the 21-year-old featuring again before the World Cup break in a month’s time.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT in light of that update from Potter, the journalist said: “I mean, it’s definitely a relief and it’s good to know that he [Potter] is still going to have depth to call upon. We know this is a busy period of games, so if Fofana’s back for the back end of that, it makes it easier to deal with.”
A big relief
As Jones stated, it will be a big relief to Potter to know that he has defensive depth of Fofana’s quality to call upon during the busy upcoming period of games, if indeed the young Frenchman can regain his fitness in time to feature this side of the World Cup.
There is no doubting the youngster’s offering to Chelsea, with his technical ability and defensive nous making him a vital component in the backline.
Despite his youth, the 21-year-old plays an important role for the Blues and serves as an enabler at the back, no matter the formation in which he’s playing. His average of 66.63 passes completed per game, and 5.32 passes into the final third per 90, is an indicator of his comfort in possession and his identity as a deep-lying ball progressor.
Whilst Trevoh Chalobah is certainly another promising option to come in for Fofana during the Frenchman’s absence, ultimately the latter would generally be the preferred choice, with the Blues’ trust and promise embedded in the form of a transfer lump sum reaching the dizzying heights of £75m.
Fofana’s return will be a huge boost for Potter and Chelsea, and the fan base will be relieved to hear that he looks set to be back sooner rather than later.