Xabi Alonso reveals Jamie Gittens injury timeline amid Chelsea transfer admission
Xabi Alonso reveals Jamie Gittens injury timeline amid Chelsea

Xabi Alonso has revealed the timescale it will take for Jamie Gittens to recover from his ankle injury.

Gittens suffered an ankle injury while on England Under-21 duty against Kazakhstan in the international break and was filmed leaving the stadium on crutches and wearing a protective boot.

It prompted many Chelsea fans to predict a long-term layoff for the English winger, and he promptly withdrew from the squad to return to Cobham for assessment.

Alonso confirms injury timeline

On Friday, Alonso gave an update on Gittens's situation ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

"He is not going to be fit for tomorrow," Alonso said.

"That is the bad news from this international break, that he picked up an injury in his ankle. He is going to be out for a few weeks."

Gittens has played only a bit-part role for Chelsea so far this season, making only two appearances totalling 56 minutes.

Stewart departure addressed

Elsewhere, Standard Sport reported on Wednesday that Chelsea's co-sporting director Laurence Stewart is to leave the club after four years and that structural changes have already taken place for his responsibilities to be assumed by remaining members of the sporting leadership team.

Speaking about Stewart's exit, Alonso said: "Since we started with the club a few months ago, Laurence helped us a lot.

"We are thankful for that and wish him the best. I don't think it will change much [on] our working structure with Behdad [Eghbali], Jose [E. Feliciano], Sam [Jewell], Paul [Winstanley], Joe [Shields]. Their roles are clear, and it won't change much."

Chelsea return to Premier League action on Saturday, hosting Bournemouth as they look to snap a three-game league winless run.