Chelsea have FOUND their Wesley Fofana replacement

James Shearman

• Updated: 20 Jul 2023 22:04 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea have confirmed that French defender Wesley Fofana has undergone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery after suffering another knee injury in pre-season.

The former Leicester City defender missed 20 games due a knee injury last campaign, while he suffered similar issues with the Foxes and at his first senior club, Saint-Etienne.

He was not included in Chelsea’s pre-season squad for their tour of the United States of America due to medical examinations, which revealed that Fofana would require surgery.

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The Frenchman is expected to be sidelined until 2024 and could miss the entirety of next season, if some reports are to be believed.

His injury means Mauricio Pochettino will be without a key member of the Blues squad for a prolonged period of time, meaning Chelsea are in need of a replacement.

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Chelsea's Fofana replacement

Chelsea do have plenty of cover in the centre-back position, even without Fofana.

Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile and Levi Colwill are a strong quartet for Pochettino to choose from.

However, the Blues could use a fifth choice this season, especially in the event of another injury.

And, luckily for the west London club, they do not need to dip into the transfer market to find one.

That's because 20-year-old Bashir Humphreys is ready to fulfil a backup role in the upcoming campaign.

Having made his Chelsea debut in the first half of last season, he spent the second half on loan at Paderborn in the 2. Bundesliga.

He impressed in Germany and has since returned to the Blues for preseason, where he excelled in their first preseason friendly.

He played 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet in a 5-0 win over Wrexham in North Carolina, proving that he is up to the task of being a part of the first-team squad.