Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful Wesley Fofana will be fit this summer.

The French centre half has barely featured for the club since completing a big money move from Leicester City.

While the centre half is highly rated in the sport, many fans may be concerned by his prolonged absence.

"We hope so, yes," Pochettino told reporters when asked if he will be eager to take Fofana to their preseason tour of the United States.

"He is doing well, very positive, we were talking yesterday and hope he can be available to be part of the group. He is still not part of group training."

He added on having patience with injured players: "Yes, of course [he needs to be patient with the returning players].

"In the case of Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Reece James; we need to pay attention in the way we need to provide them with a possibility to be fit. Now it is not only a challenge to have them fit now but in the way we manage for a whole season so there are no setbacks again.

"Of course, in football you always need to take some risks but they have the quality to take some risks. Like Fofana also, one year he is not playing.

"We will see if he can arrive in pre-season, cope with the demands and play next season. Always we will pay attention on this in the end to not be in the same situation as this season. We need to manage this really well in the summer, pre-season and end of the transfer window."