Liam Rosenior has revealed that Chelsea have identified the source of team news leaks that emerged before their Champions League last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain. The starting XI was published by French media ahead of the first leg, and before the second leg, it was known that Wesley Fofana was absent and Trevoh Chalobah and Jorrel Hato would start at centre-back.
“We know,” Rosenior said when asked if the source had been detected. “And it’s not come from any place of malicious intent to me or the team. We know where it’s come from and we’ve dealt with the situation.” Rosenior did not elaborate, but it is understood that the information did not originate from a player or staff member.
Chelsea were thrashed 8-2 on aggregate over the two legs. After the match, midfielder Enzo Fernández expressed uncertainty about his future at the club, telling ESPN Argentina: “I don’t know, there are eight games left and the FA Cup. There’s the World Cup and then we’ll see.”
Rosenior said he had a lengthy conversation with the 25-year-old before training on Thursday. “Not just about his comments, just how he was feeling, how as a team we can improve. He’s one of the captains of the club,” Rosenior said. “He made it really clear to me how happy he is here at this club, how much he wants to win, how passionate he is to be successful. And he also said that in translation and in emotion things get misconstrued in what he said.”
Rosenior also provided an update on Chalobah, who was carried off on a stretcher against PSG. The head coach had feared a longer absence after Chalobah shared a picture of his ankle twisted nearly 180 degrees. “You’re really, really worried the next day,” Rosenior said. “Fortunately it’s nowhere near as serious as we first feared. It’s still a serious injury but we’re looking at a period of maybe six weeks.”
