Latest: Chelsea confirm another player ready to return for next game

Originally posted on Chelsea News | Last updated Oct 8, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana is back in training, according to a report from the Evening Standard.

The central defender was crunched by his own goalkeeper against Lincoln in the third round Carabao Cup win for the Blues and picked up a concussion.

However the 12 day mandatory absence period has now passed, and after being unavailable for the games against Liverpool, Brighton and Benfica, Fofana is good to go again.

He won’t have been able to take part in full training while he was out, but will have been able to do fitness work to keep himself fresh.

Key defender back for important run

Fofana isn’t the only defender Chelsea have been without. They were down to the bare bones on Saturday, finishing the game against Liverpool without a recognised centre back on the pitch.

But the game against Nottingham Forest in 10 days will see Maresca’s situation flip. He will go from having two fit central defenders to a whole group.

Fofana is his favourite, so assuming he shakes off the concussion symptoms and has kept up his match fitness through this absent period, we assume he will start.

Alongside him, however is a different question. Benoit Badiashile looked good against Liverpool but is still getting back to fitness. Trevoh Chalobah has been solid for Maresca. Tosin Adarabioyo and Josh Acheampong are also available.

Fofana’s return comes at a perfect time

This is a great time to have our strength back – we’ve got a run of winnable games in 3 competitions, and after a morale boosting win over the Reds, this is a perfect moment to kick on and start picking up points across the board.

It’s a shame that the news about Cole Palmer isn’t as good. Still, having Fofana back will help our attack almost as much as our defence.

This article first appeared on Chelsea News and was syndicated with permission.

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