Enzo Maresca was unable to give too much of an update on Wesley Fofana's injury but has ruled him out of Wednesday evening's clash with Southampton.
The France international limped off on 60 minutes during the Blues' win over Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon after suffering a hamstring injury. Maresca confirmed after the game that Fofana could be sidelined for up to five weeks but the player himself later uploaded on his Instagram to say the injury was not too serious.
"We don't have any update at the moment," Maresca said in his pre-Southampton press conference on Tuesday morning. "It happened two days ago so we need to wait a little bit. We are hoping to get some more news in the next days but for sure, he will be out for the next weeks, for sure."
On the injured Reece James, Maresca continued: "He's the same situation, more or less. He's getting better but he still needs weeks to come back."
Chelsea have a number of different options to replace Fofana at centre-back. Benoit Badiashile seems to be Maresca's preferred option there with the Frenchman being in and out of the XI in recent games. However, Maresca still has the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Disasi to choose from.
"It depends a little bit on the game-plan. Benoit is one of the solutions, but we also have Tosin, Axel, we have different players that can play there," he added. "For sure, it's a big loss because Wes was doing fantastic in every game but we need to accept we have to find a different solution."
"We had yesterday's session where the guys that played had a recovery. Now, this afternoon, we have one more session and then we decide."
Maresca faced the media ahead of their Premier League midweek clash with Southampton on Wednesday evening. The Blues will be looking to continue their fine run of form and solidify their place in the top four.
The dominant performance against Aston Villa was certainly a statement but injury issues continue to pepper Maresca’s options. Speaking on Tuesday morning, the 44-year-old gave an insight into those fighting to make it back into the squad.
Chelsea face Southampton at St Mary’s on Wednesday 4 December at 7:30pm UK time. You can follow all the build-up and coverage with our **football.london** matchday blog.