Chelsea have confirmed that their midfielder, Carney Chukwuemeka would be sidelined for about six weeks.
The Premier League club who have recorded one draw and one defeat so far in the new 2023-2024 season, said Carney Chukwuemeka underwent knee surgery on Monday, August 21.
The North London side said the player would begin his recovery process at their Cobham training facility under the supervision of the clubโs medical team.
Chukwuemeka started Chelseaโs Premier League game against West Ham United at London Stadium on Sunday, August 20.
The 19-year-old Nigerian-born English midfielder scored the equalizer in the first half of the encounter but couldnโt continue in the second half due to a knee injury as he was replaced by Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
In his absence, Chelsea conceded two more goals as ten-men West Ham United inflicted Chelsea with their first defeat of the 2023-2024 Premier League season.
After the 3-1 defeat, Chukwuemeka took to his Instagram page to write, โBittersweet feeling scoring my first goal for Chelsea but picking up an injury and not coming home with three points.
โMinor setback but Iโll be back very soon. Thank you Chelsea fans for your love and support.โ
Recall that Chelsea bought Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa on August 4, 2022, for a transfer fee worth ยฃ20 million.
So far this season, the youngster who is eligible to play for his ancestral home, Nigeria, or his country of birth, England, started Chelseaโs first two Premier League games.
But the England Under-20 player will miss at least 7 games in all competitions while recovering from the knee surgery.