Ben Chilwell is expected to miss the remainder of Chelsea's season with the England international set to undergo surgery on his knee ligament injury this week, football.london understands.
It was during the second half of the impressive Champions League victory over Juventus last month that the 25-year-old hobbled off following an innocuous collision with Adrien Rabiot.
Chilwell underwent a scan that revealed he'd sustained a partial ACL tear. The decision was then taken for the wing-back to begin rehabilitation work at Cobham rather than undergoing immediate surgery.
"The decision is to treat it conservatively," Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel explained. "The next six weeks will tell the story if he makes it and will be fully available within this six weeks, or after the six weeks or needs surgery after that.
"Now I only care about the six weeks. The first reaction of his body is very positive. Hopefully, it stays like this.
"This is the decision after all the examinations and it is a very responsible decision, there is no rush in it and no pressure. This is a reasonable way to do it so all the focus is on the next six weeks."
Chilwell appeared to be making good progress in his recovery; he undertook some light fitness work, which included jogging, earlier this month. However, he was then one of four Chelsea players to test positive for Covid on December 15 and forced into self-isolation.
That came to an end over the weekend and football.london understands Chilwell went for the second scan on his injury yesterday (Monday).
Unfortunately for the defender and Chelsea, it confirmed surgery is still required and that is scheduled to take place in the coming days.
As a result, Chilwell is expected to miss the remainder of the campaign. It will be a bitter blow for Tuchel given the former Leicester City star, who was signed for £50million in the summer of 2020, was in the form of his career after a difficult start to the campaign.
“There is never a good moment for big injuries and injuries in general," Tuchel said in November.
"This, for him personally, is a very bad moment because he was so involved, so good and so full of confidence with a huge part in our performances and victories. It is a shame, we are very sad."
