Fofana relishing return to action after year-long absence

Wesley Fofana was thrilled to make his first appearance in over a year for Chelsea after featuring in their pre-season friendly against Inter at Stamford Bridge.

The defender played 69 minutes in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with the Serie A champions, in which a late goal from Lesley Ugochukwu cancelled out Marco Thuram’s 26th-minute strike.

Fofana has made only 20 appearances for Chelsea since signing from Leicester City in 2022.

He suffered a cruciate ligament tear last summer which ruled him out of last season, but feels he is now fully recovered.

“I’m feeling very good, I’m very happy after a long time. I felt a bit stressed but I enjoyed the moment. It is good to be back at home,” Fofana told Chelsea’s media channels.

“It is hard [waiting for this moment] because football is my life. When you’re not playing for a long time for sure it is hard.

“I stayed concentrated on the work to get back quickly and now I’m back I feel good.”

Back at the Bridge. pic.twitter.com/X2dlJzDUhu

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 11, 2024

The Frenchman impressed on his return, contributing to Chelsea’s attacking play with the second-most final third entries on the field for the Blues with six, only second to Enzo Fernandez (14).

Such numbers were indicative of Fofana’s higher position on the pitch compared to centre-back partner Levi Colwill, who sat slightly deeper in defence.

And boss Enzo Maresca was happy with his side’s improved attacking output, despite a failure to fully capitalise on an accumulative expected goals total of 2.27.

“The team is improving on the ball and off the ball. We created six or seven clear chances. It’s important to create chances and then we want to score more,” he said.

Fofana also played his part in Chelsea’s defence off the ball. Despite not making any tackles, he made the most clearances (two) and interceptions (two) for the Blues.

“Off the ball the team was very aggressive recovering most of the time on the ball. I’m very happy because we are improving,” Maresca added.

Chelsea open their Premier League campaign against Manchester City on Sunday.