Why Chelsea fans should expect major first team change for Arsenal game next month | OneFootball

The big news of today is already clear – Wesley Fofana is reportedly going to be in Chelsea’s squad for tonight’s game against Southampton.

That’s what Fabrice Hawkins of RMC Sport in France is reporting, and we believe him. The defender has been spotted training outdoors for a few weeks now, and reintegration into the matchday squad is the next step. We still don’t expect him to play more than a few minutes (if at all), but it’s an important moment and potentially a turning point in the season.

After tonight we have more than a week until our next game, and that game comes in the Conference League. That should give Fofana the perfect platform to play 45-60 minutes, with the return leg a week later.

That would line him up with two appearances for the Arsenal game on the 16th of March. Things could yet move faster than that – if he’s really ahead of schedule and gets a surprise start tonight, he could be rested next Thursday and potentially play next Sunday against his former team Leicester.

Fofana has plenty of time to make impact even with slow reintegration

Welsey Fofana speaks to Chelsea TV after Arsenal draw.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Given Fofana’s injury record and given Chelsea’s general “safety first” approach to bringing players back from injury this season, we expect to not see Fofana start in the league until the middle of next month.

That would still give him plenty of time to help the team before the end of the season. Without his pace in the back line they have really struggled since he picked up his injury at the start of December. Defensive partner Levi Colwill in particular has not looked nearly as good without the speedy and aggressive Fofana alongside him in the back line.