Chelsea have confirmed that Wesley Fofana has “undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery” after the defender ruptured his ACL.
The French international did not travel with his teammates to the USA for their pre-season tour, instead having to undergo “specialist medical assessments”, which confirmed an operation would be required.
In a statement posted on their official website, The London club stated that “Wesley will now begin his recovery and work with the club’s medical department at Cobham during his rehabilitation phase.”
According to Transfermarkt, this is now the 22-year-old’s seventh knee injury of his career. That is without including the broken leg he suffered just two years ago during Leicester’s 2021 summer pre-season, which kept him out for 41 of The Foxes games that season.
Fofana joined The Blues for €80m last summer under then head coach Thomas Tuchel, but has had an underwhelming year since, playing under three seperate managers and two seperate knee injuries limiting him to just 20 appearances in all competitions.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Mauricio Pochettino’s new side will now explore the centre-back market in the following weeks in search of a replacement for Fofana, however will only act should they find the right option.
Furthermore, this news is believed to not have change the club’s stance on Levi Colwill. Romano has stated that the 20-year-old is “100% staying” at the West London side this summer, who have already rejected a £30m offer from Premier League rivals Brighton, where he impressed under Roberto de Zerbi during a year-long loan spell last season.
Travis Levison | Get Football
