Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca was quick to praise Wesley Fofana and Roméo Lavia after his side’s first pre-season outing, the two have returned to the pitch after months of rehabilitation.
Speaking to his club’s in-house media team, Maresca had his to say:
“Both of them [Fofana and Lavia] are very important. In this moment it is very important for them to get minutes and not lose any training sessions.
“I am especially happy for them because for one year without any minutes, it is difficult for them mentally so they need to now boost their energy and 45 minutes will help both of them.
“Hopefully we can soon have them both 100 per cent fit and they can start to play 90 minutes.”
For Fofana, the Wrexham game was his first outing in over a year, while Lavia made his first appearance since Christmas. The former Leicester City defender had another injury-ridden season last time round as the former Southampton man joined him on the sidelines in his debut year at Stamford Bridge.
The France international was signed by the Blues two summers ago in a £75m deal, while Lavia left St Mary’s last summer in a £58m move.
After suffering a broken fibula in the 2021/22 season which saw him miss 63 games for Leicester and France, Fofana sustained back-to-back knee injuries during his first year at Chelsea before doing his ACL last summer. (Source: Transfermarkt)
Lavia, meanwhile, sustained an ankle injury early last season before a hamstring injury took him out for the entire campaign soon after his sole Chelsea appearance.
Up next for Chelsea is a friendly against Scottish Premiership champions, Celtic, on Saturday.
Chelsea’s move for Fofana looked worrisome even two years ago when they spent that much money on a player returning from a long-term injury; three further long-term injuries later, it looks even worse.
That’s not to doubt his talent, of course, and at 23 he has time on his side, but we have seen delicate cases like that of Fofana before where a promising players gets ruined by injuries, especially in the current ill-patient environment of Chelsea.
If the Blues are going to be short-tempered with him, one hopes they just move him on instead of trying to play him without him returning to full fitness. The same goes for Lavia, who also arrived on the back of a big-money move and needs to be handled with care as he returns to full fitness.
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