Chelsea midfielder out for a month following meniscus surgery

Jose Mourinho seemed to be in good spirits on Tuesday, and it's hard to blame him following his side's 2-0 victory in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the manager had a bit of bad news on the injury front for us during his pre-West Ham presser, indicating that John Obi Mikel has undergone a surgical procedure and will be out of action for a bit:

"Mikel had a little surgery on his meniscus. We are expecting him to be out for about a month - one week is already gone. There is not too much optimism or pessimism."

"I would say [he will return] first week of April."

Just another blow in what's become a very stop-start season for Mikel.  The nine-year Chelsea veteran has made just four appearances since the new year, suffering a head injury and then a knee injury, which, as it turns out, required surgery.

And while Ramires seems to have finally kicked his own injury issues, we're once again one midfielder short. Luckily, Nemanja Matic only has one more match of his suspension to serve, but we'll all need to cross our fingers that he stays healthy and avoids any more encounters with Ashley Barnes.