Liam Rosenior has confirmed that Enzo Fernandez will miss Chelsea’s clash against Manchester City. The Blues midfielder was issued an in-house two-match ban upon his return to Cobham earlier this month, having spent the March international break flirting with Real Madrid.
During an appearance on the Avirales YouTube channel, Fernandez expressed his desire to move to the Spanish capital one day. A couple of days later, the Argentine doubled down in an interview on Luzu TV, claiming he ‘always’ tells his wife that he would ‘really like’ to live in Madrid.
Then, ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-final, Rosenior announced that Fernandez had been sanctioned. The 41-year-old revealed that, after talks with the midfielder, the club decided to make him unavailable for selection for two games.
Speaking to reporters at Cobham on Friday afternoon, Rosenior provided an update on the situation. He said: “Had a really good chat with Enzo, three or four with him, he’s apologised to me and the club. We’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday.
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“It’s a serious meeting about something serious. I’m not questioning his character or who he is as a person, but I believe people make mistakes, and you can’t overstep the punishment for the mistake.
“There’s a few obstacles we still need to get through but I won’t go into that,” added Rosenior, who also provided an injury update. The Blues boss said: “The positive is Estevao [Willian] having 90 minutes against Port Vale.
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“Trevoh [Chalobah] is working really hard and is back on the pitch. Levi [Colwill] still has a few hurdles to clear. Reece [James] is running today. They are not ready for Man City.”
Chelsea came from behind to draw 1-1 when they faced Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium back in January. Calum McFarlane, who was appointed interim boss following the departure of Enzo Maresca, snatched a crucial point from Pep Guardiola.
On the result, Rosenior said: “I spoke to Calum when I joined the club. I was watching that game in an airport on the way here to come and speak to the club.”
(Image: (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images))
Earlier this week, the Premier League was awarded an extra spot in the UEFA Champions League, meaning fifth place will earn qualification to Europe’s top-flight competition. As it stands, with seven games to go, only a point separates Liverpool from Chelsea.
“It’s three points, that will take us closer to our objective and that’s all we can focus on,” said Rosenior, when quizzed on the significance of the game. On whether the Blues can beat Guardiola’s side, he said: “Of course we can.
“We’re a very good team, we’ve gone through a difficult run. When I analyse the games we have had, we’ve caused every team problems but not had the results for that.”
On having a week to prepare for the match, Rosenior said: “It’s been nice – it’s been the first week since I’ve been here that we have had two clear training days in a row to work on things. You can’t change too much too soon and that’s something I’ve looked at with the staff.”