Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, after his side beat Manchester United 1-0 on Friday night in their pursuit of top four credentials, took to Instagram to reveal that he had been playing with ‘one eye’ – and the reason why has now been revealed.
Blues defender Marc Cucurella opened and closed the scoring in the 71st minute after latching onto Reece James’ cross after a neat bit of movement on the right-hand side – and that was enough to earn all three points on the weekend.
But, as Enzo Maresca’s side now turn their attention to beating Real Betis in the Europa Conference League final, the eagle-eyed supporters have grown concerned about the Argentine midfielder and why it looked as if he was squinting for 90 minutes.
Fernandez’s ‘One Eye’ Social Media Post Explained
'Thank you to the fans for the support all the season. My first game playing with one eye'
Fernandez, widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League, put in a decent 90-minute performance under Stamford Bridge’s bright lights and, although he was overshadowed by his midfield partner Moises Caicedo, the 24-year-old impressed in the middle.
And that’s despite suggesting, in the post-match discourse, that he had to play with impaired vision – as he had to play with just one eye.
Taking to Instagram in the wake of picking up three points on home soil against the out-of-sorts Red Devils, Fernandez thanked the Stamford Bridge faithful for their undying support. Claiming that the west Londoners have ‘two finals left’, he wrote:
“[It was the] last match at home with this group that will give it all until the end, we have two finals left. Thank you to the fans for the support all the season. My first game playing with one eye.”
Curiosity got the better of Chelsea supporters – with a couple wondering whether something happened behind the scenes to disrupt the harmony in the Blues camp. “I wonder what happened during training,” one said as another asked: “Did something happen behind the scenes?”
Now, according to BBC Sport, it has been revealed that Fernandez has been playing with conjunctivitis for the last two Premier League outings – their 1-0 win over Manchester United and their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United the weekend before.
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Despite battling through illness, Fernandez – a one-time World Cup winner in 2022 with Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina – has placed himself at the heart of the action, doing whatever it takes to finish Chelsea’s 2024/25 campaign on a high.
For Chelsea’s hopes of securing Europe top table action for next season, they travel to Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on the final day in need of a win. Before that, the Champions League-chasing outfit travel to Wroclaw to secure European silverware.