Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino says the club must ‘do what is best’ for Enzo Fernandez after saying the team ‘do not need heroes’ ahead of their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.
The Argentine midfielder missed the 6-0 win against Everton at Stamford Bridge last weekend with a hernia problem.
The World Cup winner’s form has suffered in recent months, with Fernandez playing through the pain barrier.
Chelsea could improve their season with a victory against Manchester City at Wembley, which would advance them to the FA Cup final to face Manchester United or Coventry.
But, while Fernandez returned to training this week, Pochettino says Chelsea must be cautious about his well-being.
‘Enzo has been training really well in the past few days,’ said Pochettino.
‘He is going to be part of the team tomorrow and will be involved. We are managing the situation by conversing with the medical staff.
‘Of course, yes, it is true that he suffered some problems in the past but he is dealing really well with the situation. We always assess him day by day.
‘We need to protect him because he is a young guy, and the present is important, but so is the future.’
Asked whether Fernandez will eventually have surgery to solve the problem, Pochettino said a decision is yet to be made.
‘We are going to do what is the best for him,’ he said.
‘Again, we have experience of managing this situation. First, the most important thing is him as a person, not a player.
‘It’s about how he feels and whether he is comfortable with the situation. We will all support his decision (if he feels he needs surgery), but we are not going to force him to do something.
‘We are here to help and advise him of our assessment and experience.”
‘That is a tricky situation because the most important thing is he needs to be ready to perform at his best.
“We don’t want heroes, no. We want players who can perform their best to help the team achieve what we want.’
.
.
