Chelsea have confirmed that Malo Gusto has been ruled out of France’s Espoirs squad due to the injury he picked up during their 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
Gusto left the field in the middle of the second half and, with his teammate at the back Reece James also absent, midfielder Moises Caicedo will replace him for the rest of the game. Undaunted, he was released from international duty and returned to Chelsea for further treatment and tests. His involvement in the clash against Bournemouth on September 14 is now in doubt. Gusto was not the only Chelsea star to leave the French club as centre-back Wesley Fofana was also dropped from the first team, with fears of a repeat of the 23-year-old’s bad luck.
Fortunately, the French Football Federation confirmed that it was not because of the new injury that Fofana stopped. Instead, the defender is returning to Chelsea to continue working on his fitness after being plagued by injuries last season.
A ruptured cruciate ligament kept Fofana on the sidelines for the rest of last season, but he has played every minute of Chelsea’s three Premier League games so far, notably getting a look against Palace at full-back is Levi Colwill.
Fofana is expected to be fully fit before the Bournemouth game, but doubts remain over Gusto who, with James’ continued absence, poses a threat causing problems for Enzo Maresca’s management. James served his four-game suspension but has been ruled out by injury, and The Telegraph say it will be another few weeks before he returns to training.
Midfielder Romeo Lavia is also expected to return to training soon and could be fully fit ahead of Bournemouth.
