Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has undergone anterior cruciate ligament surgery which is set to rule him out of action for several months.
The 22-year-old did not travel with the Blues squad on a pre-season tour to the United States in order to have “specialist medical assessments”.
The London club said the tests on Fofana’s knee “unfortunately confirmed that an operation would be required”.
The France centre-back joined Chelsea from Leicester for £70m last summer.
“Wesley will now begin his recovery and work with the club’s medical department at Cobham during his rehabilitation phase,” added a Chelsea statement.
It is another injury setback for Fofana, who broke his leg while at Leicester in August 2021.
He was then sidelined for more than four months last season with a knee injury picked up playing against AC Milan in the Champions League.