Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez will remain unavailable for the upcoming home match against Manchester City despite apologising for recent comments about Madrid, head coach Liam Rosenior says.
Fernandez was handed a two-match internal ban by the club last week after he gave an interview during the international break in which he expressed his admiration for the city of Madrid.
The Argentine has repeatedly been linked with a move to La Liga club Real Madrid.
His agent, Javier Pastore, said this week that “we cleared the air” with Chelsea after Fernandez missed last Saturday’s 7-0 FA Cup victory against Port Vale, and had hoped that the ban would be reduced to one match.
However, Rosenior says Fernandez will miss Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Manchester City as Chelsea have decided to stick to their original punishment, despite the Argentine apologising for his comments.
“I had three or four [conversations] with Enzo,” said Rosenior.
“He’s apologised to me, he’s apologised to the club, and we’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday.
“It was a serious meeting about something very serious. I’m not questioning Enzo’s character or who he is as a person. We’ve made a sanction, we made a decision – I made a decision – and what I want for Enzo is for him to come here and have an outstanding career.”
Chelsea are sixth in the Premier League, one point behind Liverpool, who occupy the fifth and final Champions League qualification position.
Rosenior insisted he was not “shooting myself in the foot” by suspending Fernandez and said there were “hurdles” to overcome in order for the midfielder to return to action.
“He won’t play on Sunday, but hopefully after that he’ll be a massive part of the group moving forward,” added the Blues boss.
“There are still a few hurdles to be overcome that I won’t go into, but at the same time I want every player really focused on a huge run.”
Asked further what those “hurdles” were, Rosenior said: “There are still things in the air that I won’t speak about now.
“I have a very good relationship with Enzo, as all of us do, but there are still things that need to be cleared before I make a clear statement on the situation.”
The former Strasbourg manager, however, is positive Fernandez will be available for Manchester United’s visit to Stamford Bridge on 18 April.
Rosenior also said Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill all remain unavailable for the game against Pep Guardiola’s men.
