Enzo Fernandez will serve the second game of his in-house two-match suspension in Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Manchester City this weekend
Enzo Fernandez remains banned for Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Manchester City and there are issues still to be resolved ahead of his potential return next weekend.
The Argentina international missed Saturday’s win over Port Vale and will not be in the squad for Sunday’s crucial league clash with Man City. Last week, Rosenior confirmed the club had banned Fernandez following his comments where he flirted with a move to Real Madrid during the recent international break.
Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, later said that the decision to ban his client was “completely unfair” and more recently conducted an interview where he revealed the midfielder apologised to everyone at the club.
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Asked whether he received an apology, Rosenior said: “I’ve had a really good conversation myself, I had three or four with Enzo. He’s apologised to me, he’s apologised to the club, and we’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday.”
The Chelsea head coach continued: “It’s a serious meeting about something very serious. Enzo, I said in every single step along the way, I am not questioning who he is as a person.
“I believe people make mistakes and you can’t overstep the punishment for the mistake. I think we’ve made a sanction, we made a decision, I made a decision, and what I want for Enzo is for him to come on here and have an outstanding career.
“He won’t play on Sunday, but hopefully after that he will be a massive part of the group moving forward. There’s still a few hurdles that need to be overcome that I won’t go into, but at the same time I want every player really, really focused now on a huge run-in.”
Pressed on what he meant by the ‘hurdles that need to be overcome’, Rosenior remained coy: “No. There are still things in the air that I won’t speak about now.
“I have a very good relationship with Enzo, as all of us do, but there are still things that need to be cleared before I make a clear statement on the situation.”
Fernandez was present at Stamford Bridge for last weekend’s FA Cup win over Port Vale, where he watched his team run riot against the League One strugglers from just behind the substitutes’ bench. The Argentine midfielder is due to return for Chelsea for next weekend’s Premier League showdown with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
When asked if the ‘hurdles’ could stop Fernandez returning for the Man United game, Rosenior said: “Not in this moment.”
Rosenior also dismissed reports from abroad claiming some Chelsea players took issue with Fernandez being excluded from the squad and approached the Chelsea head coach about the decision.
As well as Fernandez, Chelsea will be missing Reece James, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Jamie Gittens and Filip Jorgensen through injury. James is running again following his hamstring injury but the Blues captain still needs more time. Colwill, meanwhile, is back in full training but Chelsea are looking to ease him back after a serious anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that he suffered in August.
