Alex Roberts

Fri 14 February 2025 10:47, UK

Chelsea captain Reece James took to social media to send a message to Wesley Fofana after his recent injury update.

Fofana, 24, has been out of action since coming off with a hamstring injury in Chelsea’s 3-0 Premier League win over fellow Champions League qualification contenders Aston Villa at the start of December.

The centre-back has missed their last 15 games across all competitions having previously missed the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign with an ACL tear.

Enzo Maresca had previously claimed the centre-back could miss the rest of this season but Fofana has since returned to training on grass.

Fofana had been a key player for Maresca before his injury, starting all 12 of his games across all competitions, and failing to provide a goal contribution in his 1017 minutes of game time.

Chelsea have since recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his loan at Crystal Palace and Aaron Anselmino from Boca Juniors to help add depth to their centre-back position.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, transfer guru Mick Brown confirmed Chelsea are prioritising a new centre-back in the summer after having an offer for Nottingham Forest’s Murillo turned down in January.

Football Insider also revealed (January 8) that Chelsea had opened preliminary talks over a deal to re-sign Marc Guehi, and although a winter move didn’t materialise, they retain an interest going into the summer window.

Reece James looking forward to Wesley Fofana’s Chelsea return as injury crisis worsens

James, 25, has had his own injury issues to contend with this season, missing Chelsea’s first 11 games of the season, making a brief return, and then being sidelined for a further ten games with a similar hamstring injury.

The right-back also missed a vast majority of last season, needing surgery to help rectify his ongoing issues.

Many Chelsea fans are starting to lose faith in both James and Fofana, urging the club to cash in on the defenders due to their continued issues.

James is clearly hoping to see his teammate make a return sooner rather than later as Chelsea’s injuries pile up, taking to Instagram to share Fofana’s most recent post and saying: “Step by step.”

Maresca has confirmed that both Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu are expected to be out until the end of the international break at the earliest, leaving Christoper Nkunku as his only striker option.

Chelsea take on Brighton for the second time in a week on Friday (February 14) hoping to get revenge for being knocked out of the FA Cup on Saturday (February 8).

In other news, Chelsea ‘want to sign Antoine Semenyo’ after ‘shock’ twist.

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