Brazilian midfielder Ramires will miss the next few weeks of action after an injury sustained during Chelsea's 1-0 win against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. The Blues suspected a medical ligament problem after he was stretchered off the pitch at Loftus Road in the second half, and a scan has now confirmed that diagnosis:
@chelseafc
Chelsea FC Scans confirm Ramires suffered a medial ligament injury to his right knee in the game v QPR. He is expected to be out for 3 to 4 weeks. #CFC
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That's obviously not good news for Chelsea. Ramires has been their most effective midfielder this season and his driving runs forward have provided the attacking impetus we're sorely lacking without him. The good news is that Michael Essien has returned from his own knee injury and should be able to immediately slot in in the midfield, but it would have been much better if we'd had all of our stars fully fit with some very tough games coming up.
Ramires being out for a relatively short period of time means that Chelsea probably won't be in the market for a new central midfielder this window, but it's a possibility if Andre Villas-Boas is feeling really desperate.