

Chelsea have suffered another setback after the worrying start to the season with Thibaut Courtois suffering a serious knee injury in training. The Belgium and Chelsea No. 1 is expected to be out for two months, reports suggest.

After returning from the international break, the 23-yo trained on Wednesday, but suffered the injury during practice which immediately ruled him out of the Everton trip. Chelsea doctors were attempting to assess the full extent of the issue and although substantial swelling was preventing them from making an exact diagnosis, Courtois has already been warned he faces an extended spell on the sidelines.

However, it would still come as a major relief that Courtois hasn’t suffered cruciate-ligament damage as initially feared. An ACL injury used to be career-ending in the past, however despite the advancements in medical technology they still require at least a six-month recovery period presently (in case of a successful surgery).

Chelsea were lucky last season in terms of injuries if Diego Costa is excluded from such statistics. The 8 million pounds spent on Asmir Begovic is becoming an ever shrewd decision by the Chelsea hierarchy. Had Chelsea been unable to find an able replacement to Petr Cech, the latter’s move to Arsenal would’ve come back to haunt the club.

Courtois was one of the best keepers in the Premier League last season, beating Petr Cech to the No. 1 spot last season. He was part of two defensive errors that led to goals (namely against Hull and Stoke City). This season’s start was far from ideal with a red card against Swansea, however he did make it up with the penalty save against West Brom.

Chelsea have a tricky run of fixtures coming up against Everton and Arsenal. However, an easy Champions League draw should offer them some consolation.