New blow for Pochettino as Fernandez ruled out for rest of season

Mauricio Pochettino has suffered a setback in his attempt to solidify his position as Chelsea head coach when Enzo Fernandez was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Fernandez has undergone surgery on a groin injury that will rule him out of Chelsea’s final six games, which start at Aston Villa tomorrow.

No decision has been made on Pochettino’s future past this season. The club believe there is plenty to play for and Chelsea are still able to qualify for Europe. But he needs a strong end to the season to help his case to stay on into the second year of his Chelsea contract, ahead of a summer review. Losing Fernandez will not help his cause.

The midfielder has been managing his injury for some time, which has clearly affected his form, but the absence of the 23-year-old, who cost £105million, nevertheless will be a blow to Pochettino, who has faced an injury crisis all season.

According to reports in Argentina, Fernandez has been suffering from an inguinal hernia for more than a month.

Fernandez, who was withdrawn in the 5-0 thrashing by Arsenal on Tuesday, hopes to be fit in time to play for Argentina at the Copa America in June and Pochettino had last week suggested that his long-term fitness would be prioritised over any short-term gain.

Last week, Pochettino said: “We are going to do what is the best for him. Again, we have experience of managing this situation. First of all, the most important thing is him as a person, not as a player. It’s about how he feels and if he is comfortable with the situation or not. We will all support his decision [if he feels he needs surgery].

“We are not going to force him to do something. We are here to help and advise him of our assessment and experience. We don’t want heroes. No, we want players that can perform in their best way to help the team achieve what we want.”

With summer signing Romeo Lavia also out, Pochettino is likely to have to play Conor Gallagher in a deeper midfield role alongside Moises Caicedo for the rest of the season.