December 22nd 2023.
Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Enzo Fernandez will miss Chelsea's clash at Wolves on Christmas Eve due to a hernia issue. The World Cup winner was subbed off after just 32 minutes of Chelsea's Carabao Cup victory over Newcastle on Tuesday. He looked poorly as he went off the pitch, with his manager later stating that he 'felt sick'. Fernandez reappeared to applaud the crowd and looked very teary, leading to speculation he may have picked up a painful injury.
However, the Argentina International will miss Blues' next game, but is expected to return soon after. Pochettino said in his pre-match press conference on Friday: ‘Enzo is going to be out of the game against Wolverhampton. We are going to see if he can be involved again as soon as possible. We already have the information that it was a hernia and he also didn’t feel well. We are going to give treatment with the doctor. For me, it is not going to be a problem. I think he is going to be as soon as possible again with the group.’
The news means Chelsea now have 10 players definitely ruled out of the Wolves clash, including captain Reece James who is sidelined for four months after undergoing hamstring surgery. However, one player who is back from injury is Christoper Nkunku who made his debut as a substitute in the win over Newcastle. But Pochettino has ruled out the forward starting at Molineux, saying: ‘To play from the beginning, I don’t know, it’s too early to see him start the game. The next few games and weeks we’ll consider him in the starting XI. We need to be patient; we need to give time. We need to provide him the capacity to give his best form. Everyone was excited because everyone wants to see him fit and involved in the game. We know very well the quality and capacity to help the team in a good way.’
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