The Blues were in excellent form at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, dismissing one of our top-four rivals Aston Villa with a comfortable victory.

It may have come at a cost, though. Fofana put in another good performance at centre-back, but limped off with an issue to be replaced by Benoit Badiashile with an hour played.

Given that Fofana has started all but one of our Premier League fixtures this season - the exception being when he was suspended against Liverpool - Maresca believes it is a blow for the team, especially as we enter the busy December schedule.

'Unfortunately it is bad news,' he responded, when asked about Fofana's condition after the 3-0 win. 'It is a hamstring problem and these kind of things usually require at least three, four or five weeks, but in this moment that means we lose him for 10 or 12 games.

'The way he was playing, it’s a big loss for us, but we have more players and we will try to find a solution.

'It’s a big loss because he’s doing fantastic, but it’s normal when you play this amount of games unfortunately. Fortunately, it’s his first injury this season, and we are going to find a solution.'

There was better news elsewhere, as fellow Frenchman Malo Gusto returned to action off the bench against Villa, having missed last week's win at Leicester and the midweek Conference League trip to Heidenheim as a precaution due to illness.

Just as Fofana's absence will be a big loss, Maresca believes Gusto's availability is a welcome boost for the Blues.

'Malo is doing fantastic,' said our head coach. 'I have said many times that one of the reasons why we are where we are in this moment is because of Malo. He helps us a lot in terms of the process.

'With us he’s played full-back wide, full-back inside, full-back in the pocket, he is playing three or four positions. The good thing is that he is happy because he is also learning different things.'