Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says Wesley Fofana could miss between “10 or 12 games” after suffering a hamstring injury against Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old defender was substituted in the 60th minute, after awkwardly stepping on the ball when challenging striker Ollie Watkins in the 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
The France international has started every Premier League match this season for the Blues, aside from one missed game against Liverpool due to suspension.
When asked about the diagnosis for his centre-back, who went straight down the tunnel when substituted for Benoit Badiashile, Maresca said: “Unfortunately, it is bad news. It is a hamstring problem.
“These kind of things require at least three, four, five weeks. In this moment, you lose 10 games or 12 games.
“In the way he was playing, it is a big loss for us. But we have more players and we will try to find solutions. It is a big loss. He is doing fantastic.
“But it is normal when you play this amount of games and, fortunately, it is his first injury this season. But we are going to find solutions.”
Chelsea remain third in the Premier League with exact same points, goal difference and goals scored as Arsenal – behind them only in alphabetical order.
When asked why Chelsea cannot compete for the Premier League title this season, Maresca added: “These kind of players, some of them probably played only one final for a title – probably the Carabao Cup final last season was the most important match they played.
“You have to live moments and, when we start to get those moments, we can get better and compete.
“Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City players, they have all lived finals and competed for titles. We will be there soon, but this is one of the reasons why we are still far and not ready to compete with those clubs.”
