Chelsea injury update: Wesley Fofana and Reece James latest news and return dates

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Evening Standard

·2 dicembre 2024

Chelsea injury update: Wesley Fofana and Reece James latest news and return dates

Blues without two influential defenders as the hectic festive fixture schedule looms

Chelsea are dealing with two key defensive injury concerns as a hectic run of fixtures continues across all competitions.

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The Blues have once again been without Reece James in recent games, with their captain having suffered another hamstring injury.

He has now been joined in the treatment room by Wesley Fofana, another key member of Chelsea’s first-choice backline who limped out of Sunday’s comprehensive 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.

The matches continue thick and fast for Enzo Maresca’s in-form side over the coming weeks following three successive wins following the November international break, with a trip to struggling Southampton coming up on Wednesday night before London derby showdowns with Tottenham and Brentford are followed by Conference League fixtures against Astana and Shamrock Rovers.

Chelsea also play Everton, Fulham and Ipswich in the Premier League to close out 2024 before travelling to meet Crystal Palace to begin the New Year. Here is all the latest Chelsea injury news and return dates.

Wesley Fofana

Fofana has been a near ever-present for Chelsea so far this season, missing only one Premier League game so far through suspension and forming an impressive defensive partnership with Levi Colwill.

He started as usual against Aston Villa on Sunday, but had a mixed afternoon before then suffering an injury when he accidentally trod on the ball during a tussle with Ollie Watkins and appeared to fall awkwardly.

Fofana stayed down and received treatment, but ultimately could not continue as he limped off to be replaced by Benoit Badiashile on the hour mark.

Maresca offered a pessimistic update on the French international after the game, revealing it was a hamstring injury that could see Fofana miss the entire festive fixture schedule.

"Unfortunately it is bad news,” he said. “A hamstring problem. These kind of things usually require three, four, five weeks.

“In this moment, we lose him for 10 or 12 games. In the way he was playing, it's a big loss for us but we have more players and we can find a solution.

“It's a big loss. He is doing fantastic but it is normal when you play this amount of games. Fortunately it was his first injury of the season but we will find a solution."

However, Fofana later took to social media to downplay his injury, writing on Instagram: “A slight muscle warning, as often happens after long injuries, nothing serious, the body is adjusting. We’ll come back stronger, as always. Trust your guy.”

Potential return date: Late December or January

Reece James

Chelsea’s only other known injury absentee at present is skipper James, who has not played since the 1-1 draw with Arsenal on November 10 after suffering another hamstring injury during a training session at Cobham.

The England right-back has been plagued by such problems over recent seasons and his latest setback was understandably met by plenty of concern from fans.

James underwent a scan earlier this week, though the severity of the injury remains unclear and Chelsea are not putting a timeline on his return to action.

"Yes [he's had a scan],” Maresca said before the Conference League win over Heidenheim in Germany on Thursday. “The only thing we can say is that he is getting better day by day.

“We don't know how many days he needs. He's getting better."

Potential return date: Unknown