Liam Rosenior was officially appointed the new manager at Chelsea FC today, but he won’t be in the dugout for tomorrow night’s Fulham Road derby. While Rosenior will take over the side, the deal wasn’t signed, sealed, finalized etc. in time for him to be in charge at the midweek local derby. And with that, interim manager Calum McFarlane gets one more game in charge of the Blues. He’ll be calling the shots at Fulham tomorrow night.
He also met the media earlier today, and during his press conference session, he provided updates on Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez and Wesley Fofana.
Fulham Road Derby FYIs
Chelsea vs Fulham FC
Kickoff: Wed. Jan 7, 7:30pm, Craven Cottage, London, UK
Chelsea Team News: Part 1 Part 2
Blues Team News
Both Cucurella (thigh) and Sanchez (undisclosed) will face late fitness tests, in order to feature here, but they do stand a decent chance of making the squad.
“We are training in a few hours, and they will all be taking part in the session,” McFarlane said earlier today. “We will have a better idea [on availability] after the session. But at this point, nobody is ruled out. We will see how the guys look, and then make a call after that.”
Fofana is in the same boat, but he is not injured. He’s been instead battling an illness.
“He will be checked today when he comes in,” McFarlane said earlier today.
Other than that, the Chelsea unavailable list remains the same: Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo, Mykhailo Mudryk and Romeo Lavia.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.