Chelsea defender Thiago Silva suffers knee ligament injury

Chelsea have been dealt a blow with the news that Thiago Silva is set for a spell on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury.

“Having sustained a knee injury during the first half of Sunday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur, Thiago underwent further assessment and a scan on his return to the training centre on Monday,” a club statement said. 

"Scan results from those assessments have confirmed damage to Thiago’s knee ligaments and he will now work closely with the club’s medical department during his rehabilitation to return to action as soon as possible."

Chelsea have not given a timeframe for Thiago Silva’s return but media have suggested it could be as long as six weeks out for the 38-year-old Brazilian.

His absence is another injury blow for Graham Potter ahead of some key matches.

A home Premier League match against Leeds United on Saturday is followed by a UEFA Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund where Chelsea need to overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first leg to progress to the quarter-finals.

When looking at Chelsea's defensive record when Thiago Silva has been absent this season, they have coped well in the Premier League.

In the three top-flight matches he has missed, Chelsea have conceded only one goal, and their win percentage of 33.3 per cent is exactly the same as their record with him in the line-up, where they have seven wins from 21 matches.

But across all competitions, Chelsea have conceded more goals and had worse results without their star centre-back.

They have let in 1.3 goals per match when he has been absent, compared to 1.0 with him, and when he has been missing their win percentage has dropped from 40.7 per cent to just 16.7 per cent.

Chelsea with/without Thiago Silva