Chelsea defender Chilwell to undergo surgery on injured knee

Chelsea wing-back Ben Chilwell is set for a lengthy spell out after a decision was taken to operate on his injured knee, the Premier League club has said.

The England international damaged knee ligaments in a Champions League game against Juventus on Nov. 23 and Chelsea opted initially to take what it described as a "conservative rehab approach." "Unfortunately Ben was unable to progress," Chelsea said, "and so collectively the decision has been taken to proceed this week with a surgical repair." That could rule out Chilwell for the remainder of the season.

Marcos Alonso is the only other specialist left wing-back in the European champions' squad, with manager Thomas Tuchel preferring a 3-4-3 formation.