Christopher Nkunku: Chelsea star out for ‘extended period’ after knee surgery in blow for Mauricio Pochettino

Chelsea have confirmed new signing Christopher Nkunku will be “ruled out for an extended period” after he underwent surgery on a knee injury that he sustained during the Blues’ pre-season tour of the USA.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side confirmed the arrival of the France international earlier this summer, with Nkunku joining the club on a six-year deal from RB Leipzig.

The 25-year-old, who arrived in a £52 million deal from the Bundesliga club, featured in five of Chelsea’s pre-season games and had impressed for the Blues, returning three goals while also scoring on his non-competitive debut against Wrexham.

There has been much speculation over his fitness in recent days, after he was substituted with an injury just 22 minutes into Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund at Soldier Field in Chicago last week.

While the London side were faced with a nervous wait as they looked to establish the severity of his injury, Pochettino had quelled any fitness fears after the match, insisting that his knee issue was “nothing big”.

“The 25-year-old has undergone an operation and will now begin a rehabilitation programme with the club’s medical department.”

After the match, Pochettino had hoped that he could make a quick recovery in order to be available in the early parts of the new season.

“The doctors are checking him, and I hope it is not a big issue,” the Chelsea boss said.

“He fell in the action which was maybe a penalty, and he feels something in his knee, but we hope it is nothing big.

“We hope he can be back quickly with the team. We need a few days to assess him.”

Some had claimed that the artificial pitch at the stadium, which is also home to NFL side Chicago Bears, may have played a part in causing the injury, with Nkunku dropping to the floor during the match clutching his knee, before he was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk.

“We took some risks because the pitch is not perfect because the facilities are used for a different sport,” Pochettino said, speaking on the playing surface.

“We won’t blame the pitch for the injury though. For me, it was bad luck.”

Chelsea kick off the new Premier League season against Liverpool on Sunday in what is gearing up to be a blockbuster meeting at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal v Nottingham Forest will be live on TNT Sports 1 from 11.30am on Saturday, August 12.

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