Chelsea rocked by defensive injury crisis for huge week after double setback confirmed | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca searching for solutions ahead of matches against Brighton, Benfica and Liverpool

Your matchday briefing on Chelsea, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dom Smith

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Chelsea are facing a centre-back injury crisis after Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo were both ruled out until after next month’s international break.

The Frenchman was accidentally clattered by his own goalkeeper, Filip Jorgensen, in just the second minute of the match but went on to play the full 90 minutes. His symptoms only presented themselves after the game.

Tosin, meanwhile, has a “small calf issue”, according to manager Enzo Maresca, meaning he will also not feature until the middle of next month.

It means Chelsea have very limited options in central defence for three huge matches, with 19-year-old Josh Acheampong having only trained for the first time on Thursday after missing the Lincoln trip through illness.

Trevoh Chalobah and Acheampong are the club’s only fit senior centre-backs and could therefore partner each other against Brighton on Saturday. Axel Disasi has been exiled from the first-team squad and has no prospect of playing, while Levi Colwill is expected to miss most of the season after knee surgery.

Benoit Badiashile has not featured yet this season due to injury but is close to returning. Maresca said that if Badiashile and Romeo Lavia are not fit for Brighton, then they should be back available for the Champions League game against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica on Tuesday.

Sidelined: Wesley Fofana suffered a concussion during Chelsea’s win over Lincoln in the Carabao Cup

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

“We have a Tosin injury that probably will [mean he is] out until the international break,” Maresca said in Friday’s press conference.

“He has a small problem in his calf. And then Wes Fofana, he had a concussion the other day against Lincoln.”

Maresca spoke about academy graduate Acheampong, who deputised for the injured Tosin on the opening weekend of the season against Crystal Palace.

“I already showed trust and confidence on Josh Acheampong last year when he played games in the Premier League,” Maresca said.

“We trust Josh, not because of the injury situation, so nothing changed with Josh. We trust Josh 100 per cent. He was ill this week, he had the first session yesterday with us.

“Part of my job is also to find solutions when we have some problems in terms of numbers. I will try to find solutions in this moment with the central defenders.”