Chelsea defender Thiago Silva picked up a knock during the club’s defeat at Tottenham Hotspur and it has been confirmed that the injury is serious.
The 38-year-old Brazilian defender was taken off in the 19th minute and as per the club, he has suffered damage to his knee ligaments and will now be out for five to six weeks.
“Having sustained a knee injury during the first half of Sunday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur, Thiago underwent further assessment and a scan on his return to the training centre on Monday,” a club statement read.
“Scan results from those assessments have confirmed damage to Thiago’s knee ligaments and he will now work closely with the club’s medical department during his rehabilitation to return to action as soon as possible.”
Silva’s injury is one of the worst news for Graham Potter because amidst doom and gloom, the centre-back has been one of the most consistent players for Chelsea this season.
Chelsea are currently 10th on the Premier League table and without Thiago Silva, there’s very little chance they will be able to stage a fight for a top-four finish.
Five to six weeks means he is going to miss some very important games. Thiago Silva will be absent for the second leg vs Dortmund plus he will be absent for the Premier League ties against Manchester United and Liverpool.
Chelsea take on Arsenal on the 29th of April and unless Silva makes an ahead of time recovery, he will miss this away game as well.
Thankfully, Potter has a lot of centre-backs at his disposal and now that Thiago Silva is ruled out, players like Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana will move up the pecking order. None of them have the same potential as the Brazilian but at least, the manager isn’t deprived of options.
The 38-year-old has been a mainstay in Chelsea’s defence since joining them in 2020 but now that he is unavailable, it will be a task for Graham Potter to select his new central defensive partnership.
