Emmanuel Petit fears Enzo Fernandez faces ‘months’ on the sidelines but is confident his manager has done him a favour in the long-run by taking him out of the firing line.
The Argentina World Cup winner has shown only flashes of his potential since his £105 million move from Benfica 18 months ago and no longer appears to be a central cog in the plans of new Chelsea manager Ezno Maresca.
Such has been the form of Moises Caicedo and the return to full fitness of Romeo Lavia that Fernandez has been ousted from the starting XI and been forced to make do with a place on the bench.
Fernandez’s route back into the team appears to be less than straightforward but will difficulties afflicting him off the pitch, Petit believes his manager has pulled off a masterstroke by easing the burden of expectation on him.
The former Chelsea midfielder told Instant Casino: ‘Enzo Fernandes joined Chelsea for a huge fee, and he joined a club that was in a bad place. The environment was very bad. It was a mess in the dressing room.
‘It was a mess on the bench as well. The start of the season didn’t go well for him. He was caught in a racism storm and offended his French teammates and so many other people at the club. That put Chelsea in a very difficult position.
‘I read an article a few days ago that he’s splitting with his wife. He’s got a family with two kids, I think. When bad things are happening all the time off the pitch, it starts to impact what happens on the pitch. He’s a human being.
‘He has to manage his personal problems first before becoming the real midfielder he used to be a couple of years ago. He needs to solve that first.’
On the 23-year-old’s chances of winning his place back, Petit said: ‘Lavia and Caicedo have been amazing for Chelsea.
‘It will take weeks, probably months, for him to compete and to compete for the first eleven, but he’s so far away at the moment.
‘To be honest with you, Enzo Maresca is doing him a service by putting him on the bench because of what’s happening in his private life.
‘He’s not there – in his mind – at Chelsea right now. It won’t help him by putting him in the team. It’s a good decision to keep him out of the starting line-up.’
He added: ‘I’m surprised by the speed of Chelsea’s improvement under Enzo Maresca. He has been very disciplined towards his players.
‘They all know that he is the boss. He separated the dressing room into two teams, making difficult decisions on top players.
‘What Maresca has done has had an impact on a lot of players because when you are a player competing for your position in the first 11 and there are so many players in training to compete with, it’s hard. That’s why he separated the dressing room in two sides.’
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