Thiago Silva injury: how long will he be out for and how many Chelsea games will he miss?

Things are not going well for Chelsea boss Graham Potter at the moment. Just a day after it was reported by British newspaper the Telegraph that the club’s next two matches were ‘make or break’ as far as his future is concerned, more bad news has come in the shape of what appears to be a fairly serious injury to key defender Thiago Silva.

Chelsea’s dreadful run of form under Graham Potter

Since a 2-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on 2 November 2022, the Blues have played 15 games and won just two of them, at home to Bournemouth and Crystal Palace. They haven’t won any of their last six matches, in which they’ve scored just once, and have lost the last three. All that despite spending a reported £323 million (approximately $390 million) in the January transfer window.

Their poor run of form leaves them a whopping 14 points adrift of the Champions League spots with 14 Premier League games left between now and the end of the season – several of which they will likely have to play without Silva.

What injury has Blues defender Thiago Silva suffered?

The club confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the injury suffered by the Brazilian defender could be a bad one: “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.

“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.”

How long could Thiago Silva be out for and which games could he miss?

Although Chelsea themselves haven’t put a timeframe on how long the centre-back will be out for, the Guardian have reported that could be missing for “up to six weeks”, a potential absence which would start with those games described by the Telegraph as being ‘make or break’. The Blues first take on Premier League strugglers Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 4 March before hosting Borussia Dortmund in a crucial Champions League round of 16 second leg tie; the Germans lead 1-0 from the first leg.

Chelsea’s fixtures in the next six weeks

Despite his advancing years, 38-year-old Silva has started 27 of Chelsea’s 34 matches in all competitions this season and he has the third-highest average performance rating (7.31) in the Blues squad according to Sofascore.