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Chelsea are dealing with a fresh injury blow following the 3-0 win over Aston Villa last weekend.
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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca provided an update on the injury sustained by Wesley Fofana against Aston Villa last weekend, in what he has described as a 'big loss' for the club ahead of the busy festive fixture schedule.
The matches are coming thick and fast in the top flight with Premier League clubs all in midweek action before another round of fixtures this weekend. The Blues make the trip to Southampton on Wednesday before a journey across London to take on Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur in a derby on Sunday afternoon.
Chelsea will be without Fofana for those fixtures with the 23-year-old not expected to be back in first team action until the New Year due to a hamstring injury. The former Leicester City man stood on the ball against Aston Villa and went down injured.
At the time, Maresca predicted an absence of 10 to 12 games based on his experience with similar problems in the past. He said: "Unfortunately it is bad new. A hamstring problem.
"These kind of things usually require three four, five weeks. In this moment, we lose him for 10 or 12 games. In the way he was playing, it is a big loss for us but we have more players and we can find a solution.
"It's a big loss, it's a big loss. He is doing fantastic but it is normal when you play this amount of games. Fortunately, it was his first injury of the season but we will find a solution."
Enzo Maresca provides Wesley Fofana update
Chelsea supporters will have been hoping for a more positive update as Maresca sat down to talk to the press on Tuesday, but the manager was unable to provide that, doubling down on his worries about the injury.
Maresca said: “We don’t have any updates at the moment in terms of two days ago. We will have to wait a bit and we hope for some news in the next day.
“But for sure he will be out for a few weeks. James is getting better but it is weeks to come back. For sure it is a big loss. Wes was doing fantastic, but we need to assess and respond.”
Fofana has been a mainstay at the heart of Maresca's defence so far this season, with Chelsea impressing under their new stewardship. The only league match the defender missed was the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in October, which came through suspension having picked up five yellow cards.