Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez is expected to undergo groin surgery which will mean he misses their remaining fixtures this season.
The 23-year-old missed Chelsea’s 6-0 victory over Everton on April 15 but returned to start in their FA Cup semi-final loss against Manchester City five days later, as well as Tuesday’s 5-0 defeat at Arsenal where he was taken off after 67 minutes.
Chelsea have six Premier League matches remaining this season, starting with Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are ninth, three points behind seventh-placed Newcastle United.
Argentina international Fernandez now faces a battle to be fit in time for this summer’s Copa America which begins on June 20. Argentina will play Ecuador on June 9 and Guatemala five days later in the United States as warm-up matches ahead of the tournament.
Earlier this month, Pochettino said Fernandez will have the final say on whether he has surgery.
GO DEEPER
Argentina gets a glimpse of life without Messi in win over El Salvador
“We will all support his decision (if he feels he needs surgery),” Pochettino said. “We are not going to force him to do something. We are here to help and advise him of our assessment and experience.
“We are managing the situation in conversation with the staff. In the past, he suffered some problems there but he is dealing really well with the situation.
“We always assess him day by day. We need to protect him because he is a young guy and the present is important but so is the future.”
Fernandez played an influential role in Argentina lifting the World Cup in 2022 and won the young player of the tournament award.
Chelsea subsequently signed Fernandez for a then-British transfer record of £106million ($132m) in the 2023 January transfer window. He has, though, struggled for consistency since making the move to the Premier League.
GO DEEPER
‘It’s not normal’ – Enzo Fernandez’s breakneck rise from River Plate loanee to Chelsea
‘The right decision for Fernandez’
First and foremost, this is the right decision for Fernandez. The Argentinian has been troubled by this issue for months and has not been able to play at his best. It is better to get this fixed now rather than keep playing through the pain barrier and have a negative impact on his confidence.
Naturally, it does make Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for Europe via a top-seven finish in the Premier League that much tougher. One of the reasons Pochettino has kept playing Fernandez is due to a lack of alternatives in midfield. Romeo Lavia has been ruled out for the rest of the season while Lesley Ugochukwu has not played since December due to injury.
Pochettino will now have to drop Conor Gallagher deeper to play next to Moises Caicedo. Although that did work to great effect in the 6-0 win over Everton last week, Gallagher’s ability to press high up the pitch will be missed.
Perhaps Fernandez’s injury will give Carney Chukwuemeka a run in the side, after his previous injury issues that have inhibited him for most of the campaign.
(Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
