Onze Mondial and L’Équipe have reported that Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana may not be able to start against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night due to muscle pain. Jorrel Hato is likely to take the place of the 25-year-old French international. He was seen training with Trevoh Chalobah in central defence on Monday.
Chelsea have a huge job to do at Stamford Bridge tonight. They need to come back from a 5-2 loss in the first leg at the Parc des Princes. In the last 20 minutes of that game, PSG scored three goals to easily beat Chelsea. Liam Rosenior’s team are devastated to lose a key defender like Fofana before such an important game.
“There is a return match, and we will be at home. We have three goals to score to at least go to extra time, and we are going to give everything. We have nothing to lose now.”
— Wesley Fofana, after the first leg
Fofana’s absence is even worse, given the many already at Stamford Bridge. Reece James is out with a hamstring injury, and Jamie Gittens, Levi Colwill, and Filip Jorgensen are also out. Malo Gusto will also have to pass a late fitness test after missing Monday’s training session because he had flu-like symptoms.
Hato, a 20-year-old Dutch international who joined Chelsea from Ajax for an initial fee of £35.5 million in August 2025, is a flexible defender who can play both left-back and centre-back. This season, he has played in four Premier League games and two Champions League games. His recent inclusion in the starting lineup against Arsenal showed that Rosenior is starting to trust the Dutchman’s skills more.
The young defender will now have to help Chalobah keep Chelsea’s defence strong on what could be one of the most important European nights at Stamford Bridge this season.
French Media Reports Spark Further Chelsea Lineup Leak Concerns
The news about Fofana and Hato coming from French sources have raised eyebrows at Stamford Bridge once more, bringing back worries about a possible leak of information within the Chelsea camp. Before the first leg at the Parc des Princes, the French media correctly named Chelsea’s starting lineup hours before the game.
French journalist Fabrice Hawkins was the first to post Chelsea’s full starting eleven on social media, revealing Rosenior’s tactical plan long before the players got to the stadium. The leak included the shocking decision to start Filip Jorgensen in goal instead of Robert Sanchez.
At his press conference before the game on Monday, Rosenior refused to give it too much thought, admitting:
“I wasn’t aware. I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of that if that’s the case. These things now, they happen quite a lot.”
But within hours, Onze Mondial and journalist Marc Mechenoua were once again showing Chelsea’s expected defensive setup for the second leg. It’s not clear if this is a problem only with the French media, but it will be a big deal for Rosenior, as the leak not only makes the head coach look bad, but it also gives opponents a clear tactical edge in the lead-up to important games.