Enzo Fernandez missed Chelsea’s win against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, and it is still unclear whether Enzo Maresca will play him in the upcoming fixture against Ajax.
The Blues secured an impressive 3-0 away victory against Forest last Saturday in the Premier League. Next, they host Dutch giants Ajax on Wednesday night in the Champions League.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, 24, has had injury problems recently.
Unfortunately, Fernandez picked up a knee injury during the international break, which caused him to miss the recent Forest win. His fitness is still up in the air going into the European tie at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Fernandez playing for Argentina against Venezuela in an international friendly.
Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Chelsea yet to decide if Enzo Fernandez will play vs Ajax
The positive news is that Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, 45, confirmed in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference that Fernandez is back in training with his teammates before the Ajax fixture. They will make a late decision on whether he’s ready to play, though.
Maresca said via Football.London: “Enzo took part in the session yesterday, we have one more session this afternoon, we see if we decide with him tomorrow. But as I said before and again, it was not something that we have to be worried about, it’s just to try to protect Enzo.”
Of course, Fernandez is a key figure in central midfield for Chelsea, scoring three times in 10 appearances across all competitions so far this season. Even though Maresca’s side ran out winners against Forest, they did miss the Argentine star with his box-to-box running.
If there are question marks around the South American, we would prefer he sits out midweek because the schedule is intense with so many matches around the corner.
Jamie Redknapp admits Fernandez has won him over because he started slowly in his Chelsea career but has only got better and better in the last couple of years.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez after beating Liverpool in the Premier League.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
The midfield depth at Chelsea
The strength in depth in Chelsea’s centre of the park looks superb right now.
Fernandez’s imminent return will leave him to be competing alongside teammates Andrey Santos, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia for starting roles. On top of that, full-backs Reece James and Malo Gusto are sometimes deployed in central midfield.
Although Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba has been tipped as perfect for Chelsea, they already have so much firepower to choose from in the middle. Don’t forget that Dario Essugo is currently out injured, too.