Chelsea defender’s first training snaps after returning from horrific injury
Jul 19, 2016 at 3:37 PM
Chelsea’s 2015-16 season really had more than just a collection of bad moments, but one of the big blows was Kurt Zouma’s injury in February while playing against Manchester United at Old Trafford. A bad landing after an aerial challenge tore his ACL, forcing him to undergo major surgery and sit out the rest of the season.
The timeline for a full return from such an injury is ideally from six months to a year, if not more. So far, Zouma is trending towards the most optimistic side of the spectrum.
According to the club’s website, Zouma on his first training session only featured in certain parts, though it’s unclear which ones or to what extent he got to participate. While the Chelsea fans would not get to see the impact the injury’s had on the 21-year-old’s play, this is still good news.
The France international has kept us updated on social media as he battled to come back from the huge setback.
Step by step… ??⚽️ #alhamdulilah pic.twitter.com/NCL9ZUNcxK
— Kurt Zouma (@KurtZouma) July 18, 2016
It is certainly a boost for manager Antonio Conte, who is assessing his central defensive options ahead of his first campaign in English football.
Kurt Zouma is set to miss most – if not all – of Chelsea’s 2016 preseason schedule with the cruciate knee ligament injury he sustained back in February.
The 21-year-old centre-back looked like he was ready to nail down a long-term spot in the Blues first-team when his career was put into pause mode by a nasty fall in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Not only did the injury see him miss the rest of the 2015-16 Premier League season, he also had to kiss goodbye to his dreams of playing at Euro 2016 in his home country of France.