Chelsea striker Christopher Nkunku will be out for an extended period after undergoing surgery on his injured knee.
The 25-year-old France attacker experienced the issue during Chelsea’s preseason friendly match against Borussia Dortmund in Chicago last week. At the time, Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino expressed his hope that the injury would not be a “big issue” for his £52 million attacker.
Chelsea has not given a duration of absence ahead of their Sunday Premier League matchup against Liverpool. The former forward for RB Leipzig and Paris St-Germain, though, may not play again until December, according to some reports.
During Chelsea’s preseason tour of the United States, Nkunku stood out thanks to his three goals in five games and his promising attack-linkup with fellow summer recruit Nicolas Jackson.
Before completing a transfer to Stamford Bridge in June, he had scored 58 goals in each of the previous two seasons for Leipzig.
His absence is a setback for Pochettino’s revamped Chelsea, who are trying to improve on a poor goal-scoring record from last season, when they only managed to score 38 goals in the Premier League on their route to a 12th-place finish.
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In a statement, Chelsea said: “Nkunku has sustained a knee injury which will rule the forward out for an extended period.
“The 25-year-old has undergone an operation and will now begin a rehabilitation programme with the club’s medical department.”
This has set off discussions at Stamford Bridge about bringing in another forward to fill Nkunku’s absence, according to sources with ESPN.
Given that Christopher Nkunku’s knee injury will keep him out for months, Chelsea are thinking about making a new bid for Dusan Vlahovic.
If Chelsea wants it, a deal can be reached for sure. Romelu Lukaku is still under contract with them and might be used as a negotiating tool in any future deal. The Belgian appears to prefer to remain in Italy, and Chelsea would really profit if they used the striker to sign a younger attacker.
Nicolas Jackson is available to the Blues and is likely to step in for the time being till Mauricio Pochettino and his advisers make their choice.
