Carney Chukwuemeka has undergone surgery on the knee injury he sustained while playing for Chelsea against West Ham on Sunday.
It is thought the 19-year-old who scored his first goal for the club in their 3-1 Premier League defeat at the London Stadium, will be out for around six weeks.
The former Aston Villa midfielder struggled for game time last season after joining 12 months ago for £20m, but has started both of Mauricio Pochettino’s first two Premier League games in charge.
Chukwuemeka had surgery on Monday night after being withdrawn 15 minutes from the end of his side’s derby defeat, the first loss of Pochettino’s tenure. Earlier, he had equalised Nayef Aguerd’s headed opener when he cut inside and crashed an unstoppable right-footed drive past the West Ham goalkeeper, Alphonse Areola.
That was his first goal in 17 appearances in all competitions since arriving at Stamford Bridge. The Hammers went on to win the game in the second half, though, through a goal from Michail Antonio and a penalty from Lucas Paquetà. Enzo Fernández had a first-half penalty saved for the visitors.
“Bitter sweet feeling scoring my first goal for Chelsea but picking up an injury and not coming home with three points,” Chukwuemeka posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Minor setback but I’ll be back very soon. Thank you Chelsea fans for your love and support.”
Chelsea have allowed defender Lewis Hall to join Newcastle on a year-long loan which will become an obligatory permanent move next summer. The clubs have been in negotiations over a deal for the 18-year-old academy graduate since last week, with Eddie Howe’s side having come in with an initial offer of £28m.
Hall agreed a new six-year contract to stay at Stamford Bridge earlier in August but Newcastle’s interest has persuaded Chelsea to part with a player who made 11 first-team appearances last season, including nine in the Premier League.
The left-back first joined the club aged eight and progressed through the academy set-up before making his first-team debut under former manager Thomas Tuchel. That was in a 5-1 FA Cup win against Chesterfield in January 2022 aged just 17, making him the youngest player to appear for the club in the competition.
During Chelsea’s injury crisis that struck immediately following last year’s World Cup Hall was pressed into action as an emergency midfielder, enduring a difficult game as the team were dumped out of the Cup 4-0 by Manchester City in January.