Eden Hazard will miss a host of crucial games for Chelsea as he recovers from ankle surgery – with the winger set to miss two matches against Arsenal and the London derby against Tottenham at Wembley.
The Premier League fixtures for the upcoming 2017/18 campaign were released on Wednesday morning, with champions Chelsea finding out their matches as they look to defend their crown next term.
Among the notable fixtures are the London derby clash against Tottenham on 19 August – Spurs’ first match at their temporary home at Wembley – and home games with Arsenal on 16 September and Manchester City on 30 September.
Those matches will be preceded, however, by the Community Shield in August where Chelsea will once again take on Arsene Wenger’s side after losing 2-1 to the north Londoners in the FA Cup Final at Wembley last month.
And Antonio Conte is unlikely to be able to call upon key player Hazard for any of those fixtures after the winger was ruled out of action for three months following ankle surgery earlier this month.
The 26-year-old fractured his right ankle during a training session with the Belgium national team before he returned to London and underwent an operation, which Chelsea later confirmed will rule the winger out for about three months.
Hazard is only expected to return to training around 5 September and is likely to need a further few weeks to get back to full match fitness.
With an international break scheduled in for early November, it means the first time Chelsea fans could potentially see Hazard back in action is the club’s away clash with London rivals Crystal Palace on 14 October.
The injury will undoubtedly be a blow for Conte after Hazard recorded his best goalscoring return in a Chelsea shirt last term with his 16 Premier League strikes for the title winners.
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