Mixed Chelsea injury update for Aston Villa as £107m star ruled out

Chelsea are to be without World Cup winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez for their trip to Aston Villa.

The 23-year-old has undergone successful surgery for a groin issue but that will rule him out for the remainder of the campaign. Fernandez, who was bought for a British record transfer fee of £107m will miss six games in total but is still hopeful of making the Copa America this summer with Argentina.

He hasn't missed too many games for Chelsea this season, missing just four league games in total. He has made 40 appearances across all competitions with seven goals and three assists, making him the fourth most involved player in Chelsea's attacks this term.

Chelsea have one of the longest injury lists in the Premier League with only Sheffield United having more players out. Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia are out for the remainder of the season, whilst the likes of Lesley Ugochukwu, Reece James, Robert Sanchez, Christopher Nkunku and Levi Colwill are still a few weeks away.

Ben Chilwell and Malo Gusto both have knee injuries and they will both need to be checked at to understand the severity of their issues. Gusto’s injury was described as ‘minor’ by the under-fire Mauricio Pochettino and Chilwell’s problem is a reoccurrence of what he has been dealing with over the past few weeks.

In some bit of positive news for the visitors, Cole Palmer returned to training on Thursday. Palmer was absent for Chelsea's defeat to Arsenal in midweek with his absence being felt.

He said in a post shared on X accompanied with a photo of him taking on a teammate: "Back in training.”

Palmer is currently the joint top scorer in the Premier League this season with 20 goals. His nine assists compared to Erling Haaland's five has him at the top, but he is just one ahead of Ollie Watkins. Watkins has two more goal contributions than Palmer in the league this season and he will be hoping his defensive teammates can keep him at bay as he aims to repeat his heroics at Stamford Bridge.