Chelsea dealt blow as Petr Cech is ruled out for up to four weeks

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech could miss their crunch Premier League game against Manchester United next month after picking up a knee injury in training.

The Czech stopper has suffered medial ligament damage which will see him sidelined for three to four weeks.

Chelsea are down to the bare bones in terms of goalkeepers with new signing Thibaut Courtois out on loan at Atletico Madrid.

The Blues will have to start with Henrique Hilario between the sticks for the games against West Bromwich Albion and Norwich, while Cech remains is also a doubt for the games against Sunderland and Man Utd next month.

It’s certainly a blow for new boss Andres Villas-Boas who said: “It was the end of training, a normal training incident.

“He fell awkwardly with his weight on top of him. We expected much worse when we saw the incident.”

However, it could certainly have come at a worse time for the Blues with the Champions League yet to get underway and the games against West Bromwich Albion and Norwich being ones Chelsea are expected to win easily.

Hilario is a much maligned figure but, while he’s not in the Cech’s class, he’s a very decent goalkeeper who should have no problems shutting out West Brom and Norwich.

The Blues are currently 1/4 to beat Roy Hodgson’s side at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and the inclusion of Hilario in the starting XI is not enough reason to back against them.