Huge Chelsea boost! Wesley Fofana all smiles as Blues defender reaches significant milestone in ACL injury recovery

On Thursday night, the player and the club posted photos of him working outside at their Surrey facility while dressed in training gear and boots. The images showed Fofana back on the pitch at Cobham, where Mauricio Pochettino was embracing him.

Pochettino will be relieved to see Fofana accelerating his recovery. The centre-back has been out of action since undergoing anterior cruciate ligament repair surgery in July due to a knee injury he received before to the team's pre-season tour of the United States. After moving from Leicester to Chelsea in the summer of 2022 for a move that may cost up to £75 million ($94m), Fofana has struggled to stay on the pitch.

The injured Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah, and Carney Chukwuemeka are also now out for the Blues. However, Christopher Nkunku may make his much anticipated Premier League debut on Saturday against Newcastle.

The Chelsea manager is expected to give further information on his injury status when he speaks to the media on Friday afternoon in advance of this weekend's highly anticipated trip to St James' Park.