Chelsea suffered a late blow ahead of the 2023/24 season as Christopher Nkunku was forced to undergo surgery following a knee injury.
Mauricio Pochettino was busy preparing for his return to the Premier League, after being announced as the new manager of the Blues at the end of the 22/23 campaign. His side went unbeaten in preseason, winning three of their five games, but new signing Nkunku was laid low by a knee problem in a friendly draw with Borussia Dortmund and has been kept out of action ever since.
Despite taking their spending under Todd Boehly's ownership beyond the £1 billion mark, Chelsea's season has not exactly been encouraging. They lay 10th in the Premier League after 17 matches and Pochettino is already talking about the prospect of further signings in the upcoming January window.
However, Nkunku's return to the matchday against Sheffield United on December 16 come proved a timely boost to the club. Should he be able to hit the ground running in England, potentially making his debut in the Carabao Cup against Newcastle, it may negate the need for further reinforcements in the January transfer window.
The Sporting News looks at the details of Nkunku's injury and how many games he has missed.
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How long has Christopher Nkunku been out for?
Nkunku suffered the injury in the first half of their final preseason fixture against Borussia Dortmund in Chicago, USA, on August 3.
Chelsea released an official statement on their website that stated: "Nkunku has sustained a knee injury which will rule the forward out for an extended period. The 25-year-old has undergone an operation and will now begin a rehabilitation programme with the club's medical department."
Journalist Matt Law reported at the time that Nkunku could be sidelined for 16 weeks as he looks to recover from the knee injury without causing further complications. The forward was the second Chelsea player to pick up a serious injury in preseason, after Wesley Fofana was ruled out for the majority of the season with an ACL injury.
Christopher Nkunku underwent surgery on his knee this morning and is likely to be out for 16 weeks - three-and-a-half months - before he can resume training. Unlikely to play before December. #cfc
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) August 8, 2023
Pochettino suggested that Nkunku could make his long-awaited Chelsea bow against Newcastle in their Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Newcastle on December 19.
He "has the possibility to be involved for some minutes," said the Chelsea boss.
"If [he plays] it is because I am seeing [him] today much better than the day before and that will increase the possibility of him being involved. From what I can see today, maybe he can play 20 minutes. Before Sheffield United, it was maybe 1%, 2% of this – this is why I didn't take the risk."
Christopher Nkunku injury history
Nkunku's injury could have been more worrying than many Chelsea fans may think. The France international had three different spells on the sidelines last season with RB Leipzig, one of which was caused by a torn knee ligament.
The forward only missed five games with the injury due to the World Cup break, but he was out from November until early-February. He then tore a muscle fibre late on in the season, causing him to miss a further six matches.
Here is Nkunku's injury history throughout his professional career:
| Season | Injury | Games missed |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | Ankle | 6 |
| 2020/21 | Back | 1 |
| 2022/23 | Wrist | 1 |
| 2022/23 | Knee | 5 |
| 2022/23 | Muscle | 6 |
| 2023/24 | Knee | 19 |
MORE: Updated list of Chelsea transfers, spend under Todd Boehly
What games did Christopher Nkunku miss?
Pochettino is looking to guide Chelsea back into the European places in the Premier League, but the amount of money spent by Boehly means there's plenty of pressure on the former Tottenham and PSG manager.
Overall, Nkunku has missed 19 competitive matches for Chelsea since his injury. The Blues won eight, drawn four, and lost seven of those games, adding pressure on Pochettino's position. The below list does not include the Sheffield United match, since Nkunku was declared fit enough for a place among the substitutes, albeit he was unused.
Games Christopher Nkunku missed for Chelsea
| Fixtures | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool (H) | Sunday, August 13 | 1-1 D |
| West Ham (A) | Sunday, August 20 | 3-1 L |
| Luton Town (H) | Friday, August 25 | 3-0 W |
| AFC Wimbledon (H)* | Wednesday, August 30 | 2-1 W |
| Nottingham Forest (H) | Saturday, September 2 | 1-0 L |
| Bournemouth (A) | Sunday, September 17 | 0-0 D |
| Aston Villa (H) | Saturday, September 23 | 1-0 L |
| Brighton (H)* | Wednesday, September 27 | 1-0 W |
| Fulham (A) | Monday, October 2 | 2-0 W |
| Burnley (A) | Saturday, October 7 | 4-1 W |
| Arsenal (H) | Saturday, October 21 | 2-2 D |
| Brentford (H) | Saturday, October 28 | 2-0 L |
| Blackburn (H)* | Wednesday, November 1 | 2-0 W |
| Tottenham (A) | Saturday, November 4 | 4-1 W |
| Man City (H) | Saturday, November 11 | 4-4 D |
| Newcastle (A) | Saturday, November 25 | 4-1 L |
| Brighton (H) | Sunday, December 3 | 3-2 W |
| Man United (A) | Wednesday, December 6 | 2-1 L |
| Everton (A) | Sunday, December 10 | 2-0 L |
*Carabao Cup match
Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, TNT Sports | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo |
Fubo, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streamed exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).