Chelsea defender Levi Colwill is set to miss a significant portion of the upcoming season after undergoing successful surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
The Blues kick off their Premier League campaign at home to Crystal Palace on August 17, but Enzo Maresca will not have the 22-year-old at his disposal after Colwill sustained the injury in training.
A Chelsea statement read: “Defender Levi Colwill has today undergone successful surgery to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
A Chelsea statement read: “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.”
The England international has become a fixture in Maresca’s squad and was pivotal to their fortunes last season, scoring the decisive goal on the final day of the campaign against Nottingham Forest to seal the Blues’ place in the Champions League this term.
Maresca added that Chelsea may need to target a potential back-up option for Colwill in the remaining weeks of the transfer window, which closes on 1 September.
“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.”
