Levi Colwill suffers huge Chelsea injury setback as ACL blow confirmed | OneFootball

Chelsea have been dealt a huge injury setback after Levi Colwill suffered an ACL injury during pre-season training.

The 22-year-old only reported back to Chelsea's Cobham training base this week following three weeks off after their Club World Cup triumph in the United States last month.

Ahead of Chelsea's two pre-season fixtures against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan this weekend, head coach Enzo Maresca offered an update on the squad after they returned for duty.

However, the 45-year-old revealed Colwill, who was an integral part of Chelsea's successful 2024-25 campaign, suffered a setback in the first training session back.

Chelsea will now need to find a solution during Colwill's absence. | IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Maresca admitted: "We had a problem the last two days about Levi Colwill. We don't know how long he will be out for. Hopefully not too long. It's a problem. We need to wait. We don't know yet."

The Chelsea head coach added: "We need to wait. Then we'll see. In our way, we know how important he has been. I spoke with him yesterday (Wednesday). If we achieved what we achieved, it's because of him.

"It was the first session on Monday, in the last minutes of the session. He felt something."

After undergoing a scan to reveal the extent of the issue, the results are now in and the bad news has been confirmed by the club, who confirmed the England international has had successful surgery.

A Chelsea statement read: "Defender Levi Colwill has today undergone successful surgery to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

"The 22-year-old had reported back to Cobham for pre-season at the start of this week, before unfortunately sustaining the injury in training.

"Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action.

A huge void will now need to be filled after Colwill's agonising setback. | IMAGO / Action Plus

"Levi will now begin his recovery and be supported by the club's medical department at Cobham during his rehabilitation phase."

Colwill has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and will now be sidelined for the majority of the 2025/26 campaign.

Chelsea could now look to head into the transfer market to bolster their defensive options. They have recently confirmed the signing of Jorrel Hato from Ajax, who can play at left centre-back, which adds to the options of Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile and Aaron Anselmino when all fit. Axel Disasi is expected to leave this summer.

Fofana has returned to training after undergoing hamstring surgery back in April. He won't be available to face Leverkusen or Milan, but could return for Chelsea's Premier League against Crystal Palace on August 17.

"Wes is back," confirmed Maresca. "He's training. I don't think he's ready for minutes in the next two games, but he can be available for the Palace game."