Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has revealed he will miss the upcoming international break with Argentina due to an ongoing knee injury.
The World Cup winner was forced to withdraw early from Argentina’s camp during the international break last month due to a bone edema in his right knee which causes a build-up of fluid.
Chelsea have been trying to manage Fernandez’s minutes over the past month but the 24-year-old has revealed that he has been suffering with the knee problem since before the start of the season.
Fernandez asked to be substituted in the closing stages of Chelsea’s 3-0 win at home to Wolves on Saturday night.
Argentina, who have already qualified for next year’s World Cup, are scheduled to play Angola in a friendly in Luanda next Friday.
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‘I will not be available with Argentina, I was just talking to the medical team because I had a problem with my knee in the last four months,’ Fernandez told ESPN after Chelsea beat Wolves.
‘I came with a bone edema that got worse in the last weeks and months because we played a lot of games.
‘Me and coaching staff have decided to rest together because I don’t have time to rest because there are a lot of games. I think the most important thing is coming to the end of the season and I think it’s good to make this decision together. Always respecting the doctors and everything.
‘I think it was the best decision to rest these two weeks for my knee. In the last week I suffered a lot of pain and everyone here knows it.
‘These two weeks I recovered as much as I could. I will recover as much as I can when I am 100 per cent back to training and playing with my team.’
Speaking after Chelsea’s win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night, Enzo Maresca said: ‘Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez did ask for a change; Pedro for the groin problem and Enzo for the knee, so we will have to see how they are.’
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