Jorginho and Marc Cucurella will return when Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers face off at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea will hope to continue the unbeaten start under Graham Potter when they play hosts to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. And Graham Potter has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Wesley Fofana picked up a knee injury against AC Milan this week and will remain sidelined for a few week. Apart from the French defender, N’Golo Kante is the only other absentee for Chelsea against Wolves.
Potter explained how long Fofana might be sidelined during his pre-match press conference, revealing the youngster will be out for a few weeks. The Chelsea boss also spoke about Kante and Marc Cucurella’s fitness situations.
On Fofana, Potter said, “Wesley’s knee’s not as bad as we thought after the game, so that’s good because it was a cause for concern at the time, but it will still be a few weeks I think. It’s considerably better than it could be, but he will obviously be missing for a few weeks. It’s just a knee strain so there’s a possibility we might see him play again before the World Cup. It depends on how his rehab goes, I don’t want to put too much of a timescale on it, but there’s a chance of that.”
Potter added on Kante and Cucurella, “He’s [Kante] doing more and more integration with the team. He’s still not ready for the weekend but getting closer. It is what it is, there’s nothing we can do, the injury happened and now it’s about trying to get him back fit and getting him as ready as we can so he can play for a sustained period.”
“He’s been in and out with injuries over a period of time so we have to make sure that when he’s back he’s back for good and strong and enjoying his football. So there’s no frustration from my perspective, it’s just something we have to deal with. He’s fully recovered now, he just needed the time. He was on the bench against Milan so he’s had more time, more recovery and he will be involved tomorrow.”
Judging by Potter’s words, Cucurella should return to the starting lineup against Wolves. The Spaniard will start as the left wing-back in place of Ben Chilwell, with Reece James being an automatic pick on the right flank. The duo will flank Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, with the latter returning to the side.
As for Fofana’s replacement, Trevoh Chalobah and Cesar Azpilicueta are Potter’s options. Chalobah should get the nod to start alongside Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly in the central defensive unit. The trio should protect Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Chelsea goal.
As for the offensive unit, Mason Mount should continue in the final third alongside Raheem Sterling. Finally, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will spearhead the Chelsea attack against Wolves. Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech will be backup options on the bench.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Cucurella; Mount, Aubameyang, Sterling
