Maresca confirms Enzo Fernandez a major doubt to face Ajax in Champions League | OneFootball

Enzo Fernandez may not be ready for a Chelsea return against Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday, head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed.

Having missed recent training sessions, Fernandez was also omitted from the Chelsea squad that travelled to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Maresca confirmed that it was due to an injury and insisted that it was "not a big concern" in a pre-match interview.

Romeo Lavia, Andrey Santos, and Malo Gusto, who is naturally a fullback, started in midfield against Nottingham Forest instead.

The Blues eventually won the match 3-0, but it was clear that their midfield suffered from Fernandez's absence.

IMAGO / Ball Raw Images

Unfortunately, it remains unclear whether the midfielder could return for Ajax's visit to Stamford Bridge.

"Enzo had a small problem," Maresca said about the Argentina international's absence against Nottingham Forest during his post-match press conference.

"A small problem that at the moment we are not able to say if he can be available for Ajax or not."

Fernandez previously withdrew from the Argentina squad due to an inflammation in his right knee.

The good news is that the former Benfica player had never had any serious knee injury prior to this.

He also started in all of Chelsea's seven Premier League games before facing Nottingham Forest, which speaks volumes about how important he is to Maresca's set-up.

IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

On a more positive note, Wesley Fofana, who was also missing from the squad on Saturday, was apparently just given some rest, after recently recovering from concussion symptoms.

"Wes (absence) is just a way to try to protect him a little bit," Maresca explained.

"For me, Wes is the same as Josh (Acheampong). I said many times that I really like Wes, and he's going to play games.

"But it was just to protect. He will be available for Ajax."