“Both are very important” - Enzo Maresca praises 2 Chelsea stars as they make long-awaited injury returns against Wrexham

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca highlighted how important it was that Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana got 45 minutes under their belt. The pair made their long-awaited return to the pitch during a 2-2 draw in their pre-season friendly against Wrexham at the Levi's Stadium (July 24).

Both Lavia and Fofana had an injury-derailed 2023-24 campaign with the former missing 43 games across all competitions due to an ankle and hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Fofana missed 51 games across competitions after suffering a cruciate ligament tear.

Fortunately, both stars featured during Maresca's first game as Chelsea boss, with Lavia starting, and Fofana coming on as a substitute at half-time. During the post-match press conference, Maresca said (via Football London):

"Both are very important. It is important for them to get minutes. I'm happy for them. For one year without Wesley having any minutes. 45 minutes for both is going to help them. Hopefully we can have them both fit."

He also spoke about the positives he saw:

"As I said, I'm very happy about the performance in general. We started two weeks ago. It's important the people can see the identity of the team. Tonight it was quite clear."

Lavia played in central midfield, forming an effective pivot alongside skipper Reece James. He completed 37 out of an attempted 39 passes with an accuracy of 95 percent, won all three of his tackles, made four recoveries, and won three duels.

In contrast, Fofana was effective in defense, completing 66 out of 68 passes with an accuracy of 97 percent. The Frenchman also made five recoveries and won three duels.

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Chelsea held to 2-2 draw against Wrexham in pre-season friendly

Enzo Maresca failed to kick off his tenure at Chelsea with a win as the Blues were held to a 2-2 draw against League One outfit Wrexham.

The Blues looked promising in the first half, taking a deserved lead in the 35th minute via Christopher Nkunku. However, they couldn't hold their structure after the break with Maresca making 10 changes during the interval.

Luke Bolton leveled the scores in the 59th minute before Jack Marriott gave Wrexham a shock lead 11 minutes later. Chelsea were able to salvage a draw after Lesley Ugochukwu netted late in the 82nd minute.

While the Blues dominated the ball with 75 percent possession, Wrexham had better chances to score, landing four shots on target, compared to the former's three.

Chelsea next face Celtic in a friendly on Saturday, July 27.