Enzo Maresca reveals devastating extent of Wesley Fofana injury | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that Wesley Fofana "could be out of the season" with his hamstring injury more serious than first feared.

Fofana has been plagued by injury concerns ever since damaging his knee in October 2022, a matter of months after arriving from Leicester City in a deal worth around £69.5m. The Frenchman missed four months before tearing the cruciate ligament in his other knee at the end of his debut season.

Belatedly back to full fitness at the start of the current campaign, Fofana started 12 of Chelsea's first 13 Premier League games - only sitting out the trip to Liverpool through suspension. The 24-year-old pulled up with a hamstring complaint at the beginning of December and initially waved it away as "nothing serious".

However, after a month on the sidelines, Maresca told reporters on Friday: "Wes [Fofana] will be out for a very long time. Unfortunately he could be out for the season. We don't know exactly but he could be out for part of the season. Every time you ask me about Wes, I said many times I am in love with Wes."

The Italian manager did not delve into details, but confirmed that surgery for Fofana would not be required "for the moment".

Wesley Fofana has had no luck with injuries this season / Robin Jones/GettyImages

While the Blues will be without Fofana for the foreseeable future, they are set to welcome back another injury-prone defender for Saturday's trip to Crystal Palace. Maresca revealed that club captain Reece James is "in line for some minutes" at Selhurst Park.

The skipper had been able to muster just four appearances all season before sustaining another hamstring issue in November. James made the bench for Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to Ipswich Town on Monday night and is set to get on the pitch in south London.

Fellow defender Benoit Badiashile is not expected back until February while midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall remains sidelined with a knock. There was a positive update for Romeo Lavia, a player who Maresca claimed "is very close to returning".