Rosenior to protect Fofana after Chelsea star’s injury woes

Liam Rosenior insists he won’t put Wesley Fofana’s fitness at risk even if Chelsea’s defence suffers in the absence of the France centre-back.

After Fofana endured two injury-plagued seasons prior to this term, Chelsea have been carefully managing his game-time in the current campaign.

He was rested for Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Leeds, when Chelsea’s sloppy defending allowed the visitors back into the match after the Blues had taken a two-goal lead.

Josh Acheampong started in Fofana’s place against Leeds and was a part of the defensive mix-up that allowed Noah Okafor to equalise.

Defending the decision to leave Fofana out, Rosenior said: “I think you can over-analyse. It doesn’t matter who was on the pitch in that moment, we should have dealt with that situation.

“Wes has had injury issues. I want to make sure he doesn’t break down again. Always you want consistency in your back line. I’m sure we’ll get there in the end.”

Fofana had played 90 minutes in the League Cup semi-final against Arsenal and the Premier League win over Wolves, the first time since November he had completed consecutive matches played three days apart.

An anterior cruciate ligament injury caused him to miss the 2023-24 season, while the last campaign was also badly disrupted by a hamstring problem which required surgery.

But Rosenior is encouraged that Fofana has already made 24 appearances in all competitions this season.

“For the first time in a long time he played back-to-back from midweek to the weekend,” he said. “That’s a really positive sign.”

Chelsea visit Rosenior’s former club Hull in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday.

He was sacked in 2024 after Hull narrowly missed out on reaching the Championship play-offs, with the 41-year-old managing Strasbourg for 18 months before being appointed at Stamford Bridge in January.

“Without Hull, without the experience of being there as a player and as a manager, I wouldn’t be sat here,” Rosenior said.

“I’ve got a lot to thank the club for. I had some amazing times there, both as a player and as a coach.”