Enzo Maresca has eased fears over a possible injury to Wesley Fofana after the defender was pictured limping with heavy strapping around his knee after Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over West Ham.
Fofana, 23, has been plagued by injury since arriving at Stamford Bridge two years ago and missed the entirety of the 2023/24 season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament last summer.
A separate knee problem ruled Fofana out of contention for four months at the start of his Chelsea career.
Since working his way back to full fitness, Fofana has been an ever-present under Maresca, starting all five of the Blues’ opening games in the Premier League this term.
But Fofana was taken off in the 57th minute at the London Stadium, with Axel Disasi coming on in his place, and the Frenchman later seen hobbling back onto the pitch with heavy strapping wrapped around his left knee.
While Fofana was clearly in some discomfort, he appeared in good spirits as he applauded Chelsea’s away support after the one-sided derby.
In his post-match press conference, Maresca allayed fears that Fofana may have suffered another serious setback, insisting the former Leicester and Saint-Etienne man was taken off as a precaution.
‘No, no, no [it’s not serious]. The reason why we changed him is because we try to protect him a little bit,’ Maresca told reporters.
‘In the second-half, they changed [Mohammed] Kudus to this side and it was probably a big risk to keep him but there is not any injury.
‘I really love and we love with Wes because he is doing fantastic after one year of injury.
‘For any player that is out for a year, it is not easy and he is doing top. This is the only thing we want from him.’
There were plenty of reasons to be cheerful from a Chelsea perspective as the west London giants picked up their first win at the London Stadium since as far back as 2021.
‘It’s been a good game in terms of the result and also the clean sheet is important,’ Maresca said in his post-match interview with TNT Sports.
‘We are going in the right direction. We have many things to improve but today we are happy because I think we deserved to win the game.’
While Maresca was pleased with his side’s all-round display, he believes there is still major room for improvement from both an attacking and a defensive perspective.
‘I just focus on the things that we need to improve and I think there are many things that we need to improve. This is the main target in this moment,’ the Italian added.
‘We can attack better and we can defend better but we started just two months ago.
‘We are going in the right direction and this is a long journey.’
Nicolas Jackson got his hands on the man-of-the-match award after stunning West Ham with an 18-minute brace and assisting Cole Palmer for Chelsea’s third in the second half.
Asked whether it was the striker’s finest performance since being his appointment as Chelsea manager, Maresca replied: ‘Probably in terms of goals, for sure.
‘Nicolas, for us, is a very important player. The way he behaves on the ball in terms of goals and assists but also off the ball, he is working very hard.
‘We are happy with him and we are happy with Christopher Nkunku. It’s good for both of them and it’s good for Nicolas.’
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