Chelsea have been dealt a major blow ahead of the new season. The Blues have announced that Levi Colwill has undergone surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which he recently suffered in training.
An official statement reads: “Defender Levi Colwill has today undergone successful surgery to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. The 22-year-old had reported back to Cobham for pre-season at the start of this week, before unfortunately sustaining the injury in training.
“Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action. Levi will now begin his recovery and be supported by the club’s medical department at Cobham during his rehabilitation phase.”
Speaking to reporters at Cobham on Thursday morning, Enzo Maresca revealed that Colwill had suffered a ‘problem’ in training. Without elaborating on the issue, the Chelsea boss said: “We had a problem the last two days with Levi Colwill.
“We don’t know how long he is going to be out. So for us, we will see, hopefully not too long, but for sure it’s a problem for us. We need to wait; we don’t know yet [what the specific injury is].
“It was in the first session on Monday, just in the last minutes of the session. He felt something and, as I said, we need to wait and then we see.”
Maresca suggested that Chelsea may need to sign a replacement in the final weeks of the summer transfer window, which closes on September 1. The Blues boss added: “It depends. We need to wait and then we see.
“But, as I said, we know each other from last year and, you know in our way, how important Levi has been. I spoke with him yesterday and I told him that if we achieve what we achieved last year, it is also because of him – and he was a main player for us.”
Colwill featured 43 times for Chelsea across all competitions last season. Playing a key role in Maresca’s side, the England international helped the Blues finish fourth in Premier League and qualify for the Champions League.
He also lifted two trophies, winning the Conference League and the Club World Cup. As it stands, it remains to be seen exactly how long Colwill will be out of action.
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