Chelsea injury news: Blues confirm surgery for new signing in latest blow

Chelsea have announced that midfielder Dario Essugo has undergone surgery on an injury sustained during the international break.

On Tuesday, reports emerged that Liam Delap would be sidelined for longer than Chelsea had been anticipating courtesy of a hamstring injury suffered against Fulham on August 30.

Although Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia are allegedly pushing for a return, there is still no official update on Cole Palmer's groin issue.

Enzo Maresca would have been hoping for no further issues to his squad, the Italian having already previously stressed that he and the players who were not on international duty were grateful for the rest period.

However, Chelsea have announced that they will be without Essugo in the long term.

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Chelsea provide Essugo injury update

In an official statement, Chelsea have said that Essugo has undergone an operation on the thigh injury that he sustained while representing Portugal Under-21s.

The statement read: "Midfielder Dario Essugo has undergone successful surgery today on his thigh. The 20-year-old sustained the injury whilst on international duty for Portugal's Under-21s.

"Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action and Dario will now begin his recovery at Cobham, supported by the club's medical department."

While there is no specific timeframe, the perception will be that Essugo will not be available for a number of months in what is another blow to Maresca.

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Why Essugo would have played important role

Essugo may not have featured during the opening three Premier League games but he had a role to play during the first half of the campaign.

With Lavia easing his way back to fitness, Essugo was essentially fourth-choice central midfielder behind Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos.

Maresca has previously revealed that he is an admirer of the former Sporting Lisbon man, who is viewed as a like-for-like alternative to Caicedo.

The hope now will be that Lavia can make a seamless transition back into the first-team picture after not making a competitive appearance since June.