'Three or four weeks' - £52m Premier League forward ruled out for Newcastle United & Arsenal matches

Christopher Nkunku has suffered another injury blow for Chelsea, ruling him out for 'three or four weeks'.

The 26-year-old was a second-half substitute for Chelsea's 1-0 Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. It was Nkunku's 10th appearance for The Blues after joining from RB Leipzig for £52million in the summer.

But Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has now confirmed the forward is facing another spell on the sidelines.

"We need to evaluate him [Nkunku] every day," Pochettino said ahead of the FA Cup fifth-round trip to Leeds United.

"At the moment, he could be maybe three or four weeks out. We hope no more.

"We found out after [the final that he had suffered an injury]. It’s difficult for him. When he arrived in pre-season, he was flying on the pitch and in training in America.

"Then he got the knee injury and now it’s nearly eight months later. Even when he was ready to be involved again, he couldn’t be the same as before. That is the risk.

"We have in our head the potential best Nkunku that everyone knows from the Bundesliga, but he can’t be that player. That is why it is unfair to judge because the situations are completely different."

Three or four weeks unavailable would rule Nkunku out of Chelsea's upcoming Premier League matches against Brentford, Newcastle United and Arsenal over the next few weeks in addition to Wednesday night's cup match against Leeds at Stamford Bridge (7:30pm kick-off).