Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed the severity of Enzo Fernandez’s injury after he was not included in the squad to face Nottingham Forest.
The Blues have been ravaged by injuries at the start of this campaign and they were without several key players for Saturday’s match against Nottm Forest.
Earlier this week, Maresca confirmed that England international Cole Palmer will be out for a further six weeks, while Moises Caicedo started Saturday’s game on the bench.
Fernandez has also impressed for Chelsea at the start of this campaign, though he was not fit enough to be included in their squad to face Chelsea.
Speaking pre-match, Maresca commented on Fernandez’s absence and revealed that his issue is “not a big concern”.
“For sure. It is one more game that is always difficult, but we prepare the game trying to win,” Maresca said on Chelsea’s match vs Nottingham Forest.
“[Enzo Fernandez’s injury] is not a big concern. He is out for an injury but hopefully can be back very soon.”
On playing without Fernandez and Caicedo dropping to the bench: “It’s not just about them. We need to try and find a different solution. We are going to try to find a solution.”
Maresca also omitted Estevao from his starting XI, and the head coach has explained why he made this decision.
“He has already started games for us. He came back from a long trip from Brazil so we need to manage it,” Maresca added.
“We have six or seven games until the next break. For sure he is going to play but he already showed he can play from the start.”
Despite this, Maresca said on Friday that the latest international break has been positive for his side.
“No, it’s a good one, because Tosin is back, [Wesley] Fofana is back and Andrey Santos is back.
“But at the same time we are unfortunately Enzo is out, Moi is out, Pedro is out, it’s a little bit of a balance, but again, we’re going to try our best to find the right solution for the next games.”
On Cole Palmer’s response to missing another six weeks due to injury, he added: “He looks very good, to be honest, he looks relaxed.
“He’s trying to recover from the injury, he’s doing all the therapy that he needs to do, so he looks good.”