Sanchez, Fofana, Cucurella, Caicedo: Quadruple Chelsea fitness update for Fulham clash
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Chelsea caretaker Calum McFarlane confirmed that Wesley Fofana remains a doubt for their visit to Fulham on Wednesday, while three other players could make their returns.
There were several surprise absences in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Sunday.
Moises Caicedo's absence was obvious; he had to serve a one-game suspension after accumulating five yellow cards in the competition.
Similarly, Marc Cucurella already missed Chelsea's previous draw with Bournemouth due to a hamstring injury.
The Spain international had already returned to training prior to the trip to the Etihad Stadium at the weekend, but McFarlane eventually decided to leave him out of the squad and rely on Malo Gusto to cover the left-back position.
Fofana's and Robert Sanchez's absences, however, raised some eyebrows.
The pair have been regular starters under former head coach Enzo Maresca, so they were expected to be in the starting line-up against City instead of Filip Jorgensen and Benoit Badiashile.
McFarlane explained that Sanchez had a minor muscular issue, which he picked up during the warm-up before the Bournemouth game, while Fofana had a fever.
"He's going to be checked when he comes in," McFarlane said in his press conference on Tuesday when asked if Fofana could return against Fulham.
Fortunately, the other three took part in training and, therefore, are likely to be available against their next-door rivals.
"They are all training today," McFarlane said about Cucurella, Sanchez, and Caicedo.
"We have training in a few hours. We will have a better idea after the session."
McFarlane will lead Chelsea for his final game as a caretaker for the first team, before handing over the baton to Liam Rosenior, who has announced his departure from Strasbourg to be the new Chelsea head coach.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.