The 24-year-old French player, who has already missed the entire 2023-24 season due to ACL surgery, hasn’t seen the pitch since December 1, when he was taken off during the 3-0 victory against Aston Villa.
Blues manager Enzo Maresca mentioned on Friday that Fofana’s injury is more serious than they first thought, and he’ll be sidelined for “a very long time.” There’s currently no plan for surgery.
“He could be out for the season,” Maresca said. “We don’t know exactly if for the entire season, but unfortunately he could be out for part of the season.”
Fofana made headlines when he became one of the most expensive defenders ever, joining Chelsea from Leicester in the summer of 2022 for a whopping 75 million pounds ($93 million).
“For sure, for us Wes is a huge loss,” Maresca said.
In the 2022-23 season, Fofana only played 15 matches in the Premier League.
“I don’t think this kind of injury can be compared to the rest,” Maresca said. “This one is muscle and I think that previously he never had any muscle problems, so it’s a completely different kind of injury. It’s a bit unlucky, but he will be back and he will be back good in the way he was before he was injured.”
Currently, Chelsea sits fourth in the Premier League, trailing leader Liverpool by 10 points. They’re set to face Crystal Palace on Saturday.