Chelsea have suffered a huge blow to their title defense as news broke today that Thibaut Courtois would face a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.
The Belgian goalkeeper reportedly suffered the injury in training a couple of days ago and is expected to miss around three months of action. The news will not sit well with Chelsea fans already disappointed with their poor start to the season.
Begovic set to come in
This is the first major injury of the 23-year old's career and his place in the Chelsea net is set to be taken by the experienced Asmir Begovic, who was signed in the summer from Stoke City. The Bosnian has featured once already this season when he replaced the suspended Courtois in the defeat to Manchester City. Despite losing 3-0, Begovic proved his worth as a quality backup for Chelsea but now has the opportunity as the number one.
Courtois posted a picture of him in hospital via his Twitter account today and vowed to recover as soon as possible.
Jose Mourinho discussed Courtois' injury in his press conference ahead of Saturday's match with Everton: "I cannot be more specific about the time he will be out, but I know he will be out for some time...I’m very sad for Thibaut and for the team but we have a top goalkeeper and Begovic will be in goal."
More injury concerns
Mourinho also confirmed Oscar was still struggling with his injury but should return in the coming days. The Brazilian has been sorely missed by Chelsea as he nurses a muscle problem.
The Blues' first game since Courtois' injury comes Saturday as they face Everton. With Oscar still out and their first-choice goalkeeper joining him, Chelsea's title defence has failed so far but luckily for them, there remains plenty of time to turn things around.