Chelsea have confirmed that Malo Gusto has withdrawn from the France Under-21 squad following the hamstring injury he suffered in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Gusto limped off injured midway through the second half and, with right-back Reece James also unavailable, had to be replaced by midfielder Moises Caicedo for the rest of the game.
Unsurprisingly, he has now been released from international duty and will return to Chelsea for further treatment and scans. His involvement in the clash with Bournemouth on September 14 is now in clear doubt.
Gust was not the only one Chelsea The star left the France camp when centre-back Wesley Fofana also withdrew from the senior squad, prompting fears the 23-year-old’s festering injury had struck again.
Fortunately, the French Football Federation confirmed that Fofana’s withdrawal was not due to a new injury concern. Instead, the defender is simply returning to Chelsea to continue working on his fitness following last season’s injury.
A cruciate ligament tear kept Fofana out for all of last season, but he has now played every minute of Chelsea’s three Premier League games so far, particularly catching the eye against Palace alongside fellow defender Levi Colwill.
Fofana is expected to be perfectly fine ahead of the Bournemouth game, but there are doubts over Gusto which, along with James’ continued absence, threatens to cause a problem for manager Enzo Maresca.
James has served his four-game suspension, but has been out with an injury anyway, and The Telegraph he claims he is still a few weeks away from returning to training.
Midfielder Romeo Lavia, however, will return to training imminently and should be fit enough to face Bournemouth.
