Wesley Fofana sends ‘very big’ message to Chelsea teammates after ‘very happy’ injury return vs Southampton & Spurs

Wesley Fofana is enjoying his return from a knee injury ahead of Chelsea’s two crucial games against Leeds United and Borussia Dortmund in the next week.

Up until the middle of February, the 22-year-old had only made six appearances for Chelsea since joining the club from Leicester City in a deal worth in excess of £70 million last summer.

Fofana sustained a knee injury in the first half of Chelsea’s 3-0 win over AC Milan at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League last October.

Since then, he has been working on his return and the World Cup break gave him time to really focus on his recovery. It saw him head out to Dubai with a member of the Chelsea medical team to continue his rehabilitation programme in warm weather conditions.

Fofana eventually made his return on February 18 after he came off the bench at half time when Chelsea were 1-0 down to bottom-of-the-table Southampton. The centre-back impressed on his comeback, stepping up his return to full fitness.

Following the injury to Thiago Silva the week after on Sunday away to Tottenham Hotspur, which saw Chelsea lose 2-0, Fofana came on in the first half to replace the Brazilian.

READ MORE: What Chelsea games Thiago Silva could miss after being ruled out for up to six weeks with knee injury

Fofana could now get a run in the side, with Chelsea keeping a close eye on his fitness to ensure he suffers no setbacks, and there are no bigger games than Leeds and Dortmund.

Head coach Graham Potter is under pressure and the next two games could be ‘make or break’ over his future at Chelsea. They are currently on a three game losing streak and all eyes are on the Blues for their upcoming matches.

Fofana insists Chelsea are fully focused on the huge tasks that await as they look to stop the rot and push on to end the 2022/23 season on a positive note.

Here’s what Wesley Fofana told Chelsea TV after his training session at Cobham.

Chatting to @Wesley_Fofanaa! 🎙 pic.twitter.com/8XYbLOw3p2

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 1, 2023

---

Returning from injury

“It’s very good. I am back now. I am fit. It’s good to be back with the team. I am very happy. I played two games, I tried to help the team, to the maximum and I am very happy and now I push more to stay fit.”

Playing against Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur

“I was substituted on for two games. I come in in the game and I’m very happy. I tried to help the team and the feeling is very, very good because for four months I was injured and I’m very happy.”

Road to recovery from knee injury

“Four months is very long, very long, it’s very hard, mentally it’s very hard but I stayed calm, I stay focused and I worked hard. Now I’m here, I’m back and I’m very happy because I’m with the team, group and it’s very good.”

Previewing Leeds United and Borussia Dortmund

“Two big games at home. This weekend and next week is very important. Very big games: one in the Premier League and one in the Champions League. The team is very focused to win both and push.”