Graham Potter praised Wesley Fofana after the defender scored the only goal as Chelsea beat Leeds United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The defender was making his first start since he suffered a knee injury during Chelsea’s game against AC Milan in the Champions League group stages in October.
Fofana came in for Silva, who is expected to be out of action for around six weeks.
Potter, who saw his side win for the first time in six matches against Leeds, pointed to Fofana’s potential to lead by example in Silva’s absence following his £75million transfer from Leicester in the summer.
Chelsea have struggled for cohesion both in defence and attack during their recent slump, but against Leeds, Fofana’s fine display summed up an improved performance across the board from the team.
“We’ve missed Wesley,” said Potter. “It was the Milan game at home when he had his injury, that’s a long time ago.
“He brings something different, his physicality, he defends big spaces, he lets you defend a little bit higher up the pitch because he’s got the pace and physicality to recover.
“He can attack the ball well. He’s a young player, he’s adapting to Chelsea. He’s got the personality.”
Chelsea dominated the first half and could have been two up by the break, Joao Felix hitting the bar and Kai Havertz missing after going through one-on-one with Illan Meslier in the Leeds goal.
In the second half the game became more stretched, with the hosts fortunate not to lose their lead when Kalidou Koulibaly blocked from Georginio Rutter when he stabbed at goal from Luke Ayling’s cross.
It would have been cruel on Potter, who had waited 48 days to see his team score a goal at Stamford Bridge, and afterwards he assessed his players’ game management as the match wore on into a tense last 15 minutes.
“The boys are giving everything,” said Potter. “We’re playing against one of the best teams in the league in terms of intensity. If the game starts to become Hawaii football, up and down, it can be a challenge for us.
“But they stuck at it. The crowd were great, they want us to do well. They want us to win with more comfort, and we all want that. But the moment we’re in, it’s not so easy to do.
“We started the game well, created some opportunities. The goal was pleasing moment for us all. Probably the second half was a bit of ‘we’ve got something to lose’, which is where you’d expect us to be given the run we’ve had. It’s really good…
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