Chelsea To Be Without Rudiger For Rest Of Season

By Max Wise

Antonio Rudiger will miss Chelsea’s final few games of the season following last Sunday’s knee injury sustained against Manchester United in the English Premier League.

The 25-year-old German had just returned from another knee injury that saw him miss Chelsea’s previous two games against Slavia Prague and Burnley when he was forced off after 65 minutes at Old Trafford.

Chelsea released a statement on Tuesday confirming that the former AS Roma defender will play no part in the club’s remaining games.

“Toni Rudiger successfully underwent surgery on his left knee meniscus today. He will miss the rest of this campaign and will rehab over the summer to be back early next season”, the statement read.

Rudiger has been one of Chelsea’s most consistent players this season, featuring 44 times in all competitions and appearing in 33 of the club’s 36 league games so far.

Rudiger will now miss Chelsea’s Europa League semi-final showdown with German club, Eintracht Frankfurt, as well as Premier League games against Watford and Leicester City.

“What a pity I won’t be able to help my team during the last games of the season,” Rudiger wrote on Instagram after undergoing surgery in Rome.

“But my knee surgery went well and I’m already positive again. Thanks for all your messages and comments”.

“And special thanks to the efforts of Professor Mariani and his team”.

Rudiger’s absence will pave the way for Danish centre-back, Andreas Christensen, to get a run in the team, while club captain, Gary Cahill, who has barely featured this season, will be called upon when the need arises.