Fofana has taken steps forward to achieving that goal during our U.S. Tour. He played 45 minutes in each of our opening two friendlies, and another half-hour during the 3-0 win over Club America last night.

His last appearance in Chelsea blue before that Wrexham game was in May 2023, over 400 days ago. It is understandable, therefore, that Fofana has felt mixed emotions about returning to action.

‘The hardest part was trying to forget everything about my injury and trying not to think about my knee,’ he reveals. ‘I had to try not to be scared and try to concentrate on the game. After a long time without playing and on a big pitch, it was hard.

‘But it is a good feeling. After more than a year, I enjoyed it a lot. It was a little bit strange but it’s good to be back. Now I have to keep working hard and try to make sure I have no more injuries like that again.’

Fofana is referring to the double setback he suffered over the course of the 2023/24 campaign. He returned for pre-season last summer and started to feel pain in his knee. Scans showed he required reconstruction surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.

Then, as he began training outside before Christmas, with the belief he wasn’t far off returning to action, Fofana felt pain in his other knee. A meniscus injury would end any hope he had of playing in 2023/24.

‘I was very sad because I had worked very hard and was very close, but then again I had to go for surgery and do the rehab work and it was a long process,’ he says.

‘But this is the life of a footballer. Sometimes you are at the top and sometimes you will have a very bad 12 months like I had. But the most important thing is the future and working hard to get back to a high level.’

Fofana continues: 'It was very difficult in the head because I knew I wasn’t going to play for a long time again and you start thinking about everything, but I just changed my focus to working hard so I could get back as quickly as possible.

‘I stayed strong and the most important thing was to stay strong in my head. I worked hard to get back again and all the team – the staff and the players – helped me and supported me during what was a long season. I really appreciated the support of the club.’

Fofana is grateful to every teammate for making him feel involved despite his prolonged absence from the grass.

Understandably, he was closest to three fellow long-term injury rehabilitants: Reece James, Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku. James in particular was a great source of mental strength and solidarity.

‘It is very good to have friends like this,’ Fofana acknowledges. ‘They are not just teammates, they are friends – because they really helped me.

‘I would have my moments where I was down but I try to keep my smile and keep the good vibes for the team because I am like this.

'When I was with the group last season, I was not training and felt a bit sad but I still tried to bring good vibes with the group. I try to smile a lot because it is good for the team.’

Fofana says his time away from the pitch changed him. ‘You start looking at the world differently,' he explains. 'During my recovery, I was opening my mind to a lot of things.'

He also took the opportunity to watch plenty of football, taking on board information about other teams and players he is confident will stand him in good stead in the years to come.

That new beginning starts now. Fofana prepared for pre-season by working with a physio before linking up with Enzo Maresca at Cobham. Their relationship is flourishing.

‘We talk a lot,’ says Fofana. ‘For sure, the first training was hard for me. He told me it is a long process and it is not that you train for one day and then you are fit.

‘He has given me a lot of confidence and it is good. The style of the manager is different for sure, but the team have reacted well to it. We understand everything and this is what pre-season is for: to try a lot of things, and to understand the strategy and tactics.

‘I think we are in a good place,’ he adds of the bigger picture. ‘There is a good process and I hope this is a good season for us.

‘The manager said in his first meeting, ‘We are Chelsea and Chelsea win’. It is important for everyone to keep this in mind.’

'When you look at our team, success is trying to win as much as possible. When you see the team, the head coach, the club…this is Chelsea. Every year we try to win.

‘Last season there were complications but we have a young team, I think this season the target for us is different. I don’t know if we will win everything, but we will try. We train every day to do that.'

On a personal level, Fofana is keen to emphasise his injury-plagued recent past is behind him. Each of his last three seasons may have been hampered by prolonged absences, but now it is time to change the narrative.

‘I am concentrating on the future, day-by-day and step-by-step. My target now is just to prepare my body for the season, get some minutes and then stay fit. After a long period like this, it is important to just play. To keep training, keep playing minutes and try to help the team be successful.

‘And to enjoy it as well, because last season was very tough for me. I hope to have a long career and I want to stay fit, give everything for the club and hopefully things will get better for me.’

It is an aspiration we all share. Seeing Wesley Fofana at his best in a Chelsea shirt would be one of the highlights of the forthcoming season, of that there is no doubt.