Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma was quoted in the French media this week as saying he will assess his future at Stamford Bridge come the end of the season, after a frustrating return from injury.

The France international has recovered from the long-term injury which saw his fast paced progression to a first team regular stopped in its tracks.

The 22-year-old has found it almost impossible to break into Antonio Conte’s back three with Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta and summer signing David Luiz all performing to such high standards.

It has been such a test for the centre-half, who already has 66 first team appearances under his belt, that he has managed just 23 minutes of Premier League football so far this season, a number which currently looks unlikely to grow.

An injury such as Zouma’s is going to have a profound effect on any career, however, given his age it is understandable to assume that with time on the pitch he should be able to return to, and exceed, the levels he reached prior to being sidelined.

Chelsea fans have, of course, been here before. Time and again they have seen youngsters break into the first team before, for one reason or another, falling by the wayside and eventually leaving.

You only need to look at the likes of Kevin de Bryune, Romelu Lukaku and Ryan Bertand to see what the club has lost over the years, and with a whole host of youngsters still looking for a chance, there will be fears it could happen again.

Players such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Lewis Baker and, of course, Zouma are all battling to get noticed by Conte and gain their chance in the first team once again.

Only this season another defender, Nathan Ake, was impressing on loan at Bournemouth before being recalled in January and left amongst the subs alongside Zouma.

There are a whole host of former Chelsea youngsters making up the starting elevens at top clubs across Europe, many causing fans to think of what could have been should they have been given their chance in west London.

Before his injury Zouma looked set for the very top, powerful and commanding as well as good with the ball at his feet he is every inch the modern centre-half, however, the Blues cannot afford to make the same mistake again.

With the Premier League title all but wrapped up, surely the Frenchman deserves his shot at impressing once again, it could well be one of the best decisions Conte makes all season.