Chelsea are confident Wesley Fofana's knee injury isn't as bad as first feared and could be back playing before the World Cup in November.
The summer signing from Leicester has featured prominently in the early weeks of new manager Graham Potter's reign.
Fofana scored his first goal for Chelsea in Wednesday's win over AC Milan but his joy was short-lived after he sustained a serious looking injury seven minutes before half-time.
The France Under-21 international was seen hobbling away from Stamford Bridge on crutches and it was feared he would miss a significant portion of the season.
According to The Evening Standard, however, the early prognosis is positive after initial scans delivered encouraging results.
Speaking in his post-match press conference after Chelsea's victory over the Serie A champions, Blues boss Graham Potter admitted he was unsure how bad it would prove to be for Fofana.
'We'll have to scan it tomorrow and see how he is but there's nothing to report at the moment,' Potter said.
'That's the one disappointing thing about the evening so we have our fingers crossed. We're concerned but I don't want to speculate on it now.
'These things happen. He's a young guy and a strong guy but we'll support him.'
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, meanwhile, Fofana posted two pictures - one of him celebrating his goal and the other of him being subbed off after picking up the knock.
Alongside the images he wrote: 'From laughter to tears. I'll be back stronger [soon]. Be sure.'
The caption also included a 'soon' emoji giving Chelsea fans hope that their £70m signing will not be out of action for too long.
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