Chelsea resume hostilities against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
The Blues return home determined to put a frustrating weekend behind them, but Enzo Maresca’s side welcome the Cherries under the cloud of another injury setback.
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Maresca has confirmed that teenage talent Jorel Hutto will not be available this weekend after suffering a problem in the half-time warm-up against Newcastle United.
Maresca made it clear in his pre-match press conference that Hutto’s recovery has not progressed enough to be named in the squad against Bournemouth.
“For Bournemouth, no, I don’t think [Hato will be ready to feature]”.
It’s not all doom and gloom on the injury front, with Maresca also confirming Wesley Fofana is back in contention after the shock defeat against Aston Villa.
Maresca said the decision was simply to protect Fofana’s health.
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The centre-back is not fit enough for consecutive starts and the Italian boss is carefully managing Fofana’s workload after previous injury problems.
Maresca has been widely praised for his outstanding performance in handling fitness issues at Chelsea.
Reece James is an obvious example. After years of injury problems, the Chelsea captain is now in solid form and played his 50th game of 2025 against Villa.
This is the first time in the past four years that the England international has made consecutive appearances.
James has started all but one of Chelsea’s 18 Premier League games so far this season.
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He has also featured in five of the club’s six Champions League games and is now available for three games a week.
Maresca hopes to repeat that trick with Fofana, whose Chelsea career has been plagued by recurring injury problems.
Cole Palmer has also carefully managed his playing time after spending two and a half years on the sidelines earlier this season.
Maresca confirmed both men will have to pass late fitness tests to determine if they are fit to face Bournemouth.
“We need to see how they do,” Maresca said when asked about Palmer and James. “Then we need to decide [if they face Bournemouth].
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“Reece is doing really well – no matter where he plays, he helps a lot.
“We’ll have to see how he performs at Bournemouth after the Aston Villa game. But we’re delighted he’s back fit.”
