Chelsea: Wesley Fofana will not be added to Blues' Club World Cup squad, Enzo Maresca confirms
Moving on: Enzo Maresca's face Benfica in the Club World Cup round of 16 (Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca confirmed that Wesley Fofana will not be added to Chelsea's Club World Cup squad after the injured defender joined up with the team camp.
The Blues secured their progression to the knockout stages of the summer tournament in the small hours of Wednesday morning, beating ES Tunis 3-0 in Philadelphia.
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Maresca now has the option to add two new players to his squad, but confirmed that Fofana, who was limited to just 14 appearances last season through injury, is not yet ready to play.
"Wesley is here because he is trying to be with us and recover with us,' the Italian explained. 'There is no chance he can be with us in the squad. At the moment, there is no plan to bring other players.'
Fofana signed to Chelsea for a reported £70million in 2022, but his career in West London has been limited by repeated hamstring injuries. He has played for the club just 34 times.
Chelsea's group stage campaign was not without its flaws - the Blues' progression was in doubt after they lost to Flamengo last week - and Maresca was relieved to be moving on.
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He continued: 'Especially after the defeat it was important to bounce back and win, and we won the game and can start to think about the next one.
'It was very important to be patient, and then when we found the goal the game was a little bit more open.
'We are happy for all the players, especially the ones who were for a long time without minutes.
'It's impossible not to rotate players because playing every three days in these conditions means it's not possible for them to play every game.'
After Atletico Madrid were sent home early on Monday, Maresca added that Chelsea should be proud to progress in the competition.
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'There are clubs in the last five or six years that have played Champions League finals, like Atletico Madrid, who are back home.
'So we need to be proud and happy – and now we are in the Round of 16, the target is to go through to the last eight.'
Chelsea will face Benfica in the next round, and, should they win that tie, will then meet either Palmeiras or Botafogo in the quarter-finals.
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