Chelsea centre-back Wesley Fofana is back in individual training as he seeks to return from a hamstring injury as soon as possible.

Fofana was not initially concerned about the injury he suffered in early December but, after a period of silence, Chelsea fans were rocked by manager Enzo Maresca’s claim that the centre-back could be sidelined for the rest of the season.

That sparked a confused reaction from Fofana and prompted further clarification from the boss, who admitted Fofana disagreed with the assessment given by Chelsea’s medical staff.

In a boost to Fofana’s quest to return before March, the Daily Mail state he is already back out on grass taking part in individual sessions.

Fofana is running during drills and is on track to return before the end of the campaign, when he may have a battle to reclaim his starting position from returning loanee Trevoh Chalobah.

Injuries are a growing concern for Maresca, who was without defender Levi Colwill and midfield pair Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia for the 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Given Chelsea are already short on numbers in midfield, there have been calls for the Blues to recall either Andrey Santos or Lesley Ugochukwu from their loans with Strasbourg and Southampton respectively.

The Athletic expect Fernandez to miss “a couple of weeks at the most” but there are significant concerns about Lavia, who could be out for “a lot longer”.

Lavia has struggled horribly with injuries since his move to Chelsea in 2023. He has made just 13 appearances for the Blues across all competitions, missing almost the entirety of last season because of a handful of fitness issues.

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