Chelsea paid big money to sign Wesley Fofana from Leicester City last summer.

The 22-year-old defender suffered an injury disrupted first season at Stamford Bridge after completing a £70million move from Leicester last summer.

Chelsea initially confirmed that defender Wesley Fofana will miss the club’s pre-season tour of the United States due to a knee injury.

The club has now released a statement to confirm that he’d miss longer than just the pre-season.

The statement read: “Defender Wesley Fofana has undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery.

“The 22-year-old did not travel to America for the club’s pre-season tour due to specialist medical assessments, which unfortunately confirmed that an operation would be required.

“Wesley will now begin his recovery and work with the club’s medical department at Cobham during his rehabilitation phase.”

Fofana missed 15 Premier League matches last season due to a knee injury, before establishing himself in the side in the latter stages of the campaign. He’d now miss almost the entire season this coming campaign.