Chelsea center back Antonio Rüdiger to miss another month after needing another surgery — report

Not good news on Antonio Rüdiger from the Express, as the Chelsea center back will be out for another month after apparently needing another surgery, this time to correct the lingering groin/pelvic issue he’s been dealing with since attempting to make his comeback from the offseason knee surgery in September.

He lasted just 45 minutes in that start against Wolves, which remains his only competitive senior action of the season (in addition to a couple rehab starts with the U23s and a bit of training time). He looked close to returning a couple weeks ago, but that has proven to be a false dawn.

Rüdiger apparently learned of his latest setback after seeing a specialist for the groin injury at the start of this week. Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard had confirmed last week that Rüdiger would indeed need to see said specialist, so unless the Express are telling porky pies, he’s indeed headed for more time off.

The 26-year-old defender recently talked on German TV about the frustrations of the past six months, about not being able to play, and about itching to get back as soon as possible. Sounds like we’ll have to wait a bit longer yet. The Express says a month; The Mail says three weeks. Either way, it’s not good.