Romano: Chelsea player has had surgery and will miss months as dreaded FIFA virus hits Chelsea’s squad | OneFootball

They say that bad news comes in threes – we’ve just had the second part, and we’re not looking forward to the third.

Hot on the heels of David Ornstein’s report that Liam Delap’s hamstring injury picked up against Fulham would keep him out until November, Fabrizio Romano has piled in with the even worse news that Dario Essugo is going to have surgery on a thigh problem picked up on international duty, and will be out until around a similar time.

Portugal midfielder’s injury comes at worst possible time for him and Chelsea

Fabrizio Romano confirms Essugo’s injury.

Essugo had barely featured for us since signing in the summer, picking up a number of small issues since his arrival from Sporting. He’s now seemingly got a major issue, and the FIFA virus has struck us hard here. A player who was set to become really important in the next few weeks as the Champions League starts up and we look to rotate Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez will now be ruled out for months, just when we need him.

Essugo has been waiting for a chance to make an impact, so this is a real setback for him as well as the team. As always, surgery is a very bad sign – clubs don’t do that unless it’s totally necessary. We await more detailed  information about just what the problem was and the timeline for return.

Chelsea squad already under strain as new season sets in

This sudden wave of injuries to start the season are a good reminder that no matter how deep you think your squad is, things can change in a moment. There were questions about some players getting enough minutes at Chelsea this season – instead, before the midweek games have even kicked off, we’re missing important players in defence, midfield and attack.