"?Chelsea's chase of German defender Antonio Rudiger is thought to be over after the 23-year-old suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury while in training ahead of the summer's European Championships, which kick off in France this Friday.
Rudiger joined Roma for a pre-arranged fee of £7.7m this summer after an impressive season on loan with the Italian club, but the Blues were said to be close to a move to take the Germany international straight from his new home - the Italians set to flip him for a large profit after his value sky-rocketed last season.
Gute Besserung, @ToniRuediger! #DieMannschaft https://t.co/vmFyKfqTXX
The "?German FA confirmed the injury on Tuesday, writing in a statement on their website: "Antonio Rudiger ruled out of the Euros.
"[The] Germany international has been ruled out of the European Championship after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Die Mannschaft's first training session in Évian. This was confirmed by an examination carried out by Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt and the medical team.
"Joachim Löw and the rest of the management team will now make a decision on whether they will call up a replacement, with UEFA regulations allowing them to do so until the first matchday."
The moment Germany defender Antonio Rudiger tore his ACL ?
[Via @iMiaSanMia]pic.twitter.com/zhQVlK8RhR
The injury will come as a blow to new Blues boss Antonio Conte and his new regime at Stamford Bridge, as the club struggle with their defensive corps ahead of the new season.
With Kurt Zouma likely to miss the first couple of months of the season with a knee injury of his own, the ageing and out-of-form pairing of John Terry and Gary Cahill could be Conte's first-choice duo unless he can bring in a fresh face or two - with Everton's John Stones also looking harder than expected to get hold of.
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