Chelsea have been handed a major blow as it has emerged that defender Wesley Fofana has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will miss much of the upcoming season, according to Football.London.
The Frenchman, who joined the club 12 months ago from Leicester City for a fee of £70m, has struggled with injuries since his move to west London and managed just 15 Premier League appearances.
Finishing the season as Chelsea’s first choice centre-back, he was expected to remain there under Mauricio Pochettino, partnering one of compatriot Benoit Badiashile or Levi Colwill in the heart of the Blues defence.
However, he was left out of the tour of the USA after picking up an injury and sent for scans, with the prognosis at the time unclear.
Now, however, it has come back with the worst news possible, and the Frenchman has ruptured his ACL.
It means that he is set to miss the majority of the 23/24 season, with the issue usually taking between 6-12 months to recover from, and could leave Chelsea dipping back into the transfer market for a defender.
However, Chalobah is keen to leave the club in search of regular first-team football, while Silva is now approaching 39 years of age and there are concerns about how regularly he will be able to play.
Without European football next season, Chelsea’s squad will not need to be as big as it was last season, but with Fofana out for much of the campaign, they may well fast-track a move for Silva’s replacement ahead of his contract running out in 2024.
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