Chelsea and France have been handed a huge blow as it was announced that young defender Kurt Zouma will be out for six months.
Big blow
The youngster, who has made 32 appearances for the Blues so far this season, has suffered cruciate damage in his right knee after an awkward landing during the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
Scans on Monday showed the extent of the damage with a statement from the club read that Zouma had suffered an injury to his “anterior cruciate ligament” in Sunday’s match and that he will undergo surgery in the “next 48 hours”.
Coming back stronger
This gruesome injury will prove a massive blow for both club and country, with Zouma ruled out for the rest of the domestic season and is expected to be out of this summer’s European Championship.
Zouma has been a staple in the middle of the defence along with captain John Terry playing in all the matches since the return of interim manager Guus Hiddink.
However, Zouma has come out on social media putting on a brave face. The 21-year-old tweeted that he will have “surgery this week “ and “come back stronger”, thanking everyone for “all the messages”.
Change of tides
This injury does leave Hiddink’s side quite short in terms of defenders and could potentially have a big impact on the future of Terry.
It is expected that Gary Cahill will fill in for Zouma during his long-term absence but the England international has recently expressed his frustration at his lack of playing time after losing his place to Zouma.
With doubts over his future and Zouma likely been out until the beginning of next season it could see a U-turn after Chelsea decided to not offer a new contract to the club legend.
However, despite it looking like the 35-year-old will leave in the summer, the club have insisted that a final decision hasn’t been made and could offer him another 12-month contract considering recent events.
Chelsea will take on Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, February 13 with kick-off at 5:30PM BST.