Fernandez sorry but will miss Man City - Rosenior

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez will sit out Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City after the club upheld its two-match internal suspension, head coach Liam Rosenior confirmed on Friday.

The Argentine international was sanctioned last week for comments made during the international break in which he praised Madrid, fuelling fresh speculation over a future move to Real Madrid. Fernandez missed the 7-0 FA Cup rout of Port Vale and will now be absent for the visit of the champions to Stamford Bridge.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, Rosenior revealed he has held “three or four” conversations with the 24-year-old, who has since apologised to both manager and club. “He’s apologised to me, he’s apologised to the club, and we’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday,” the Blues boss said. “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.”

Agent Javier Pastore had earlier claimed the air had been “cleared” with Chelsea and expressed hope the ban would be halved, but Rosenior stressed the original punishment stands. “He won’t play on Sunday, but hopefully after that he’ll be a massive part of the group moving forward,” he added, while acknowledging “a few hurdles” remain before Fernandez can return.

Rosenior rejected suggestions he was undermining his own ambitions by ruling out one of his most influential midfielders, insisting discipline must take precedence. Chelsea enter the weekend sixth in the table, one point behind Liverpool in the race for the final Champions League berth.

Fernandez is expected to be available for the home meeting with Manchester United on 18 April. Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill also remain sidelined for the City match.