The Frenchman eased fears over the length of his absence in an upbeat social media post, while Maresca is due to give an update during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, but Fofana appears certain to miss the trip to St. Mary’s.

Chelsea have failed to beat Aston Villa in any of the last three meetings at Stamford Bridge but Enzo Maresca's side have an excellent opportunity to end that run on Sunday afternoon. The Blues have started the season impressively and are unbeaten in their previous five outings,

The Blues will look to create some separation from the chasing pack in the battle for the top four in the Premier League.