Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka has undergone surgery after sustaining an injury during his side’s 3-1 loss to West Ham United on Sunday.
The club announced the 19-year-old will begin rehabilitation and he will reportedly be out for around six weeks.
Chukwuemeka will miss over a month of action but will be happy that he has avoided an injury that could have kept him out for much longer.
The injury came at the worst time for Chukwuemeka, who was getting into his stride.
West Ham had taken the lead, but he equalised for his side with a ruthless strike for his first goal in a Chelsea shirt.
Chukwuemeka looked good before the injury happened, and he’ll hope to come back stronger.
The England youth international joined Chelsea from Aston Villa last year for around £15 million and has shown glimpses of his ability, but there are still a lot of elements in his game to fine-tune.
However, new manager Mauricio Pochettino likes him and gave him chances to show his worth in pre-season, where he impressed.
The Argentine manager has kept Chukwuemeka around, and he has featured in Chelsea’s two games this season.
The Blues may have to step into the transfer market to find a replacement for Chukwuemeka.
Chelsea have already lost Christopher Nkunku to injury for four months, and Pochettino hinted that they need to sign someone to help out striker Nicolas Jackson.
The Blues are currently wrapping up a deal for New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic for around £13 million.
The Serbian goalkeeper will replace Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has gone out on loan to Real Madrid.
