Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful Wesley Fofana will be part of Chelsea's travelling squad to the United States this summer as the defender nears a return from injury.

The France international has not played under Pochettino in a competitive game yet after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) last summer. Fofana, signed from Leicester City in the summer of 2022, has played just 20 times for the Blues in all competitions in what has been an injury-ridden couple of years.

Now, though, he is preparing for his long-awaited comeback. While he will not be ready for the final two games of the campaign against Brighton and Bournemouth, Pochettino believes Fofana will be back in time for pre-season training in a couple of months' time.

"We hope so, yes," Pochettino replied when asked if Fofana will be a part of pre-season for Chelsea. "He is doing well, very positive, we were talking yesterday and hope he can be available to be part of the group. He is still not part of group training."

There are a few players that Pochettino has not been able to work with anywhere near as much as he would have liked. The likes of Fofana, as well as Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia have missed large chunks of the season.

Pochettino has accepted he needs to be patient with these players next season when they are fit and available. He said: "Yes, of course [he needs to be patient with the returning players].

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"In the case of Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Reece James; we need to pay attention in the way we need to provide them with a possibility to be fit. Now it is not only a challenge to have them fit now but in the way we manage for a whole season so there are no setbacks again.

"Of course, in football you always need to take some risks but they have the quality to take some risks. Like Fofana also, one year he is not playing.

"We will see if he can arrive in pre-season, cope with the demands and play next season. Always we will pay attention on this in the end to not be in the same situation as this season. We need to manage this really well in the summer, pre-season and end of the transfer window."