Chelsea were fortunate in their title winning season under Antonio Conte not to endure any significant injury problems to their star-players but it seems their luck has run out heading into a crucial transfer window.

The Belgian football association has confirmed on Twitter that Eden Hazard will miss his nation’s friendly with Czech Republic on Monday and the following World Cup qualifier with Estonia, after fracturing his ankle in training.

Hazard initially twisted his ankle and subsequent scans revealed the full extent of the Premier League winner’s injury, although it’s not yet clear exactly how long he’ll be out of action for- and it’s certainly a concern for Chelsea.

Belgian ace Hazard openly stated earlier this month that a lack of fitness was a major factor in his poor performances a year ago, where Chelsea endured a woeful defence of the Premier League title won under Jose Mourinho, and he only rekindled his best form this term.

The usual recovery time for a broken ankle is around six weeks, a time span that would put Hazard out of action until mid-July, but damage sustained to the ligaments and tendons could take longer to heal- potentially putting Hazard out of action for some of Chelsea’s pre-season campaign.

Any complications could lead Hazard to be struggling for fitness for a couple of months, which would hand Chelsea a huge blow when the Premier League campaign starts in August- and Hazard will take time to return to his best.

His form last season showed that Hazard finds it difficult to return back to his best after an injury lay-off and it’s a huge concern for Chelsea, as the Belgian ace scored 16 Premier League goals this season and was the stand-out performer in the Blues’ title success.

Without him, Chelsea could struggle to be at their best in the first few weeks of the season and that could lead them playing catch-up, whilst it could also hinder their return to European football in the Champions League.

The injury is also further evidence of Chelsea’s lack of squad depth as there is no real stand-out candidate to fill any void Hazard could leave in the side, which was always going to be a concern with the risk of injuries occurring.

Conte now needs to tweak his system to have less reliance on Eden Hazard and potentially find an understudy in the squad, or in the market, for his stand-out man- especially as Real Madrid continue to eye a move.