Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia sidelined for Brentford trip, says Enzo Maresca

LONDON – Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will be without Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia for the trip to Brentford on April 6, as injuries continue to hamper his side’s efforts to finish in the English Premier League’s top four.

Both players featured regularly for Maresca during the first part of the season, but their progress has been significantly interrupted since then with injuries.

Chelsea moved fourth in the table with eight matches remaining after the 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on April 3.

French defender Fofana, 24, recently returned from an extended period on the sidelines due to a muscle injury but played only two league matches before being left out of the squad for the game against Spurs.

“Fofana had a muscle problem a few days ago and we are waiting for more checks,” Maresca told reporters on April 4.

Lavia has played only two league games since early December and recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. Maresca confirmed that Lavia will not play against Brentford.

“No, for Sunday, he is out. We don’t know yet how long he will be unavailable for,” he said. “We are waiting for both. Romeo looks a little bit better compared to Wes (Fofana), in terms of probably Romeo can be back earlier than Wes.”

Despite having played only 13 matches in all competitions for Chelsea this season, Maresca says the 21-year-old Belgian midfielder is central to the club’s plans.

“If you compare Romeo’s games this season to last season, he’s already improved,” Maresca said.

“The target with Romeo is just to try to keep him fit as much as we can. The next year he’ll play more games than this season.”

Brentford, meanwhile, are 12th on 41 points, 11 behind west London rivals Chelsea.

Their manager Thomas Frank suggested the Blues are “under pressure” to end the season in the Champions League places.

He said: “We are facing a very strong Chelsea team that after a strong start to the season had a little bit of a dip for whatever reason, also had a few injuries.

“I watched them (against Tottenham), they looked strong, they looked good. All of their key players more or less are available, so it’s a fully firing Chelsea team we are facing.

“They need the Champions League spot. I think it’s fair to say that they are under pressure. I’m not trying to play any games here, but they need the Champions League spot and they need to win against us.”

Despite having the best record at home in the early part of the season, with seven wins and a draw in their first eight league matches at the Brentford Community Stadium, the Bees have not won in the league on their home turf since early December.

When quizzed about that, Frank said he wants a “perfect performance on the pitch and in the stands”.

But they will be without midfielders Fabio Carvalho, Josh Dasilva and striker Igor Thiago through injury. According to Frank, fullback Rico Henry has “a chance to feature” while midfielder Mathias Jensen is a doubt. REUTERS