Enzo Fernandez: Chelsea played me with an injury for six months

Tom Weber

Updated: 26 Apr 2024 14:09 BST
3 min read

Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez has revealed that he played with an injury for the past six months.

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The Blues' erstwhile record signing has been the subject of some criticism since arriving at Stamford Bridge in January 2023. Signed from Benfica for a then-British record €121 million, expectations were high when the World Cup winner was unveiled as the latest of Todd Boehly's big-money signings.

Fernandez, however, has thus far failed to live up to his inflated price tag. The Argentine has been far from terrible but there is an argument to be made that Chelsea's team functions better without him, or at least as long as he is not used alongside new record signing Moises Caicedo in a double pivot.

Perhaps one of the major reasons why Fernandez hasn't been the same player who took the world by storm in Qatar in 2022 is due to the fact that he had been dealing with a long-term injury.

Fernandez out for the season

The 23-year-old finally underwent groin surgery after Chelsea were demolished 5-0 by Arsenal and the Blues have announced that he will miss the rest of the season as he recovers from the procedure. Fernandez has now revealed that the problem had been plaguing him for six months.

"I wanted to let you know that my operation was successful, everything went well, thank God," Fernandez wrote on Instagram. "I needed to have this surgery since I had been experiencing pain for approximately 6 months. It was something I could avoid by constantly treating myself with injections and medications."

"But a few weeks ago the pain began to become more and more intense, without any of this having an effect, and it was worse since I trained and played with discomfort, but I did not want to stop participating in games. Every time I had to play with the Chelsea shirt, like that of the National Team, I always tried to give my best despite all this but I couldn't take it anymore."

"Thank you for the messages, the encouragement and your usual expressions of affection. Regards to everyone, I promise you that I will come back stronger than ever."