Christopher Nkunku has been officially ruled out of Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge opener against Liverpool with a knee injury.
Ben Jacobs confirmed the sad news on X on Tuesday afternoon, with the striker having undergone an operation that will leave him with a recovery period of ‘at least 10-12 weeks’.
Chelsea confirm Christopher Nkunku has a knee injury which will rule him out for “an extended period”. He’s undergone an operation & will begin a rehabilitation. Terrible news for an injury sustained on a poor pitch in Chicago. #CFC fear Nkunku will miss at least 10-12 weeks. pic.twitter.com/ws55rI0Ful
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 8, 2023
It leaves the London-based outfit short on the striker front, with the remaining options including Armando Broja, Nicolas Jackson, Romelu Lukaku and Mason Burstow.
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Whilst Liverpool have been largely quite fortunate with injuries during pre-season – barring the most minor of knocks to Curtis Jones prior to our 3-1 win over Darmstadt – we’re certainly no stranger to the horrifying realities of ill-timed absences.
As things currently stand, Jurgen Klopp’s men look set to kick-off the league season with a (relatively) full complement, though are still in dire need of further additions beyond Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
It’s positive to hear, at the very least, that the former RB Leipzig man’s issue won’t rule him out for the entire campaign and we hope to see him back in action for his new club in the near future.