Thibaut Courtois Injury: Updates on Chelsea Star's Knee and Return

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois suffered a knee injury prior to the Sept. 12 Premier League clash with Everton and will miss several months of the season after requiring surgery. 

Continue for updates.

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Courtois Clarifies Recovery Timeline

Thursday, Oct. 1

"I will be out until the beginning of December," said the Belgium international, relayed by Kristof Terreur of HLN.

It's the clearest indication yet of when Chelsea can expect to see their No. 1 back between the sticks. BBC Sport had predicted a three-month absence when news of the injury broke, but Darren Lewis of the Mirror suggested Courtois could be back within two. 

Andrew Dillon of the Sun even claimed the stopper would only be sidelined for a month, but Courtois is clearly expecting a longer period of rehabilitation.

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Spotlight on Begovic in Courtois' Absence

Friday, Sept. 11

Courtois has established himself as one of the world's best stoppers, impressing on loan with Atletico Madrid before returning to the English capital in 2014. So good was his form last season, longtime No. 1 Petr Cech was allowed to leave for Arsenal.

Asmir Begovic moved to the Blues to give Courtois a capable back-up, and he is more than capable of holding down the fort until his colleague returns. The Bosnian is an experienced Premier League contributor who greatly impressed during his time with Stoke, and while he may not be the world-class option in goal Courtois is, he's not going to lose Chelsea any points.

However, the Premier League champions' defence is currently in disarray, and boss Jose Mourinho will want his top shot-stopper back as soon as possible, if only to return an air of calm to the back four.