According to journalist Simon Phillips, Chelsea star Wesley Fofana is unlikely to have suffered a serious injury against AC Milan despite leaving Stamford Bridge on crutches.
The Frenchman scored his first goal for the Blues in the victory over the Italian champions, but his night was cut short when he limped off with a knee injury late in the first half.
What happened to Fofana?
After arriving at Stamford Bridge in the summer, Fofana had a hit-or-miss first few days or weeks. However, when he gave Chelsea the lead in the 24th minute, it appeared that there might finally be some relief in sight.
The youngster’s night ended less than 15 minutes later, though, when Milan star Rafael Leao caught him and forced him off.
Speaking about Fofana’s injury, Potter himself said: We’ll support him but we don’t know yet, we’ll get the scan results tomorrow. Fingers crossed. There’s nothing to report at the moment but it was the one disappointing thing of the evening.’ Reflecting on the win over AC Milan more generally, he added: ‘It was a good night for us. We needed to play well. The attitude and application of the players was fantastic. It was a really important win for us. ‘I thought we started off a bit nervous for about five minutes. It was just a result of us wanting to do so well. But then you saw the appetite of the players. Clean sheet, three goals. The personality of players was really good tonight.’
Potter has three viable choices going into Wolves’ visit to Stamford Bridge, barring a decision to abandon three at the back and go with a back four.
It’s also possible if Potter decides to switch Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva among the back three, moving Marc Cucurella to the left center-back position.
Potter has three viable choices going into Wolves’ visit to Stamford Bridge, barring a decision to abandon three at the back and go with a back four.
Trevor Chalobah, who replaced Fofana against Milan and has likely earned himself a starting spot, is either given the opportunity to play, or Cesar Azpilicueta gets his first Premier League start since the loss against Southampton back in August.
It’s also possible if Potter decides to switch Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva among the back three, moving Marc Cucurella to the left center-back position.
Despite this, Phillips is optimistic that the issue won’t be serious given that the former Leicester player managed to leave the field of play alone after playing for a few minutes.
What did Phillips say about Fofana?
He told GIVEMESPORT: “He will need further assessments. The reassuring thing is that he continued to play on it for two minutes and also walked off unaided. “Yes, he left on crutches, but to me that looks more of a precaution than anything major like an ACL.”
Who could replace Fofana against Wolves?
Prior to Wolves’ visit to Stamford Bridge, Potter has three viable choices, unless he decides to forgo three at the back and begin with a back four.
Trevor Chalobah, who replaced Fofana against Milan and has likely earned himself a starting spot, or Cesar Azpilicueta, who hasn’t played in the Premier League since the loss at Southampton in August, will either get the start.
Additionally, Potter can decide to switch Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva amongst the back three and play Marc Cucurella in a center-back position.
On Thursday, Fofana uploaded two photos to Instagram: one showing him celebrating his goal and the other showing him being replaced after suffering an injury.
He wrote: ‘From laughter to tears. I’ll be back stronger [soon]. Be sure.’
The caption also included a ‘soon’ emoji giving Chelsea fans hope that their £70m signing will not be out of action for too long.
🚑 Doctors estimate Wesley Fofana could be out for around four weeks with a sprained knee following a scan on Thursday. [L’Equipe]
