Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku is expected to miss up to four months of action after undergoing surgery on a knee injury he sustained during pre-season.
The 25-year-old featured heavily during the Blues' summer schedule, but limped off during the first half of their friendly against Borussia Dortmund last Thursday.
Chelsea were initially hopeful that the injury was not serious, with early reports suggesting that his time on the sidelines could be a matter of weeks rather than months.
However, the club has now confirmed that Nkunku required surgery on the issue, and he is now expected to miss the opening four months of the new campaign.
"Nkunku has sustained a knee injury which will rule the forward out for an extended period," read a statement from the club.
"The 25-year-old has undergone an operation and will now begin a rehabilitation programme with the club's medical department."
Nkunku had begun his Chelsea career in promising form, scoring in three of his first five appearances for the club during their pre-season tour of the United States.
However, he is now unlikely to feature until December at the earliest, potentially missing at least 13 Premier League games as well as the opening rounds of the EFL Cup.
Chelsea have already been busy in the transfer market this summer, and recent reports suggested that they could be tempted into a move for wantaway Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar given Nkunku's injury setback.
However, Mauricio Pochettino is understood to have warned the Chelsea hierarchy off such a move, despite still wanting to bolster his attacking line this summer ahead of the expected departure of Romelu Lukaku. body check tags ::
