'We have Tosin' - Chelsea manager includes Nigerian CB among 3 options to replace injured Fofana

Speaking ahead of Chelsea's Premier League clash with Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium on Wednesday night, Enzo Maresca indicated that Tosin Adarabioyo is in contention to start the fixture.

This follows the injury to Wesley Fofana, who had to be brought off on the hour mark during the Blues’ 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

The France international, alongside Levi Colwill, has been the first-choice centre-back pairing, but the injury to the former will now force Maresca to make a change in his defensive set-up.

Tosin, Benoît Badiashile and Axel Disasi will slug it out for Fofana's position, though there is a good chance that Badiashile will get the nod as he was the replacement for his fellow countryman during the victory over Aston Villa.

When asked if Badiashile would start against the Saints, Maresca did not give a definitive answer, stating that Tosin and Disasi are also in contention to be named in the starting lineup. 

"It depends a little bit on the game. Benoit is one of the solutions, but we also have Tosin, Axel, we have different players that can play there," Maresca was quoted as saying by Chelsea's official website.

"For sure, it’s a big loss because Wes was doing fantastic in every game, but we need to accept we have to find a different solution.

"We had yesterday’s session where the guys that played had a recovery. Now, this afternoon, we have one more session and then we decide."

Tosin has yet to start a Premier League game since the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in October and has been an unused substitute in the last five games.

Maresca has preferred using the Nigerian defender in the UEFA Europa Conference League, where he has started all but one game.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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