Chelsea transfer news: Liam Rosenior stands firm over Enzo Fernandez sanction ahead of Manchester City game

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has confirmed that Enzo Fernandez will remain absent for Sunday's Premier League fixture against Manchester City.

Rosenior revealed last week that Fernandez had been handed a two-match club ban for comments that he made regarding wanting to live in Madrid later in his career.

Agent Javier Pastore has since revealed that an apology has been made to Chelsea, despite initially claiming that the punishment was unfair.

That seemingly left the door open for the Argentina international to come back into contention for the showdown with Pep Guardiola's team.

However, speaking at a press conference on Friday, Rosenior indicated that there were still 'obstacles to overcome' after conversations with Fernandez.

Rosenior reveals "three or four conversations" with Fernandez

Although Rosenior again talked up his admiration for Fernandez, he ruled out the club sanction being halved despite recent developments.

He told reporters: "I've had a really good conversation myself, I had three or four with Enzo. He's apologised to me, he's apologised to the club, and we'll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday."

On the apology, Rosenior added: "It's a serious meeting about something very serious. Enzo, I said from every single step along this way, I'm not questioning Enzo's character, I'm not questioning who he is as a person.

"I believe people make mistakes and you can't overstep the punishment for the mistake.

"I think we've made a sanction, we made a decision, I made a decision, and what I want for Enzo is for him to come on here and have an outstanding career."

When pushed on why Fernandez remains out of contention, the Englishman said: "He won't play on Sunday, but hopefully after that he'll be a massive part of the group moving forward.

"There's still a few hurdles that need to be overcome that I won't go into, but at the same time I want every player really, really focused now on a huge run."