Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez in January 2023 for a whopping £106 million, and the Argentine midfielder has been an excellent addition.
The 23-year-old showed remarkable consistency in his first six months and was also a reliable performer at the beginning of the season.
However, the former River Plate man soon began to drop poor performances, and questions came up about how well he fit into the Chelsea team.
Rumours soon emerged that Fernandez was playing with a groin problem and was playing through the pain to help the club reach its objectives. It was confirmed that he had an inguinal hernia.
Fernandez eventually had to get surgery to address the problem and has opened up about his difficult situation.
“I was playing with pain and injections for eight months,” he told Argentine reporter Christian Martin.
“I had to make the decision to have surgery. It was the best. I was harming the team and did not want to expose myself.”
Fernandez will now focus on recovering ahead of next season, hoping to play a crucial role in the club’s resurgence.
He has been one of the biggest optimists regarding the Chelsea project under BlueCo. He believes the club’s fortunes will turn around under the guidance of manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Fernandez hailed his compatriot for bringing order and identity to the team. “The work ethic is different,” he added.
Chelsea have been basking in a rich vein of form following three Premier League wins on the spin. They have leapfrogged Manchester United into seventh place, level on points with sixth-placed Newcastle United.
Since January 2024, only Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool have garnered more PL points than the Blues.
With Fernandez on the road to recovery and Chelsea finding their winning touch, the future looks bright for both player and club.
The coming season will be a chance for Fernandez to repay the faith shown in him and solidify his place as a vital cog in Pochettino’s Chelsea machine.
If he can recapture his early form and combine it with a clean bill of health, the hefty transfer fee paid for him can be a bargain in the long run.
