The Blues will have to play a large chunk of the next season without a key defender.
Wesley Fofana has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament ahead of Chelsea’s pre-season tour in the United States.
A knee injury saw Fofana miss out on Mauricio Pochettino’s 29-man squad for the pre-season campaign. Chelsea have now confirmed the 22-year-old is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
“Defender Wesley Fofana has undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery,” the Blues’ official statement reads.
“The 22-year-old did not travel to America for the club’s pre-season tour due to specialist medical assessments, which unfortunately confirmed that an operation would be required.”
Who will replace Fofana?
Chelsea will have to play the first few months of the upcoming campaign without Fofana. The likes of Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah are the favourites to replace the Frenchman.
Benoît Badiashile is another option to play at the heart of Chelsea’s backline. However, the 22-year-old still hasn’t fully recovered from a hamstring issue that he suffered last season.
Pochettino has kept Badiashile out of his pre-season squad, but he will most likely regain full fitness at the start of the Premier League campaign.
Chelsea meet Wrexham in their first pre-season game on Wednesday.
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