Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho announced on Friday that a knee injury will sideline Thibaut Courtois for the foreseeable future.
The Belgian goalkeeper will undergo surgery after sustaining the injury during a training session on Thursday. It's expected that Asmir Begovic will get the majority of the starts in Courtois' absence.
"Courtois was injured in a training session with the goalkeepers and I cannot tell you much, but I can tell you that he needs surgery in his right knee," Mourinho told reporters ahead of Saturday's match against Everton.
"As a consequence of that he will be out for quite a long time. I cannot be at this moment more specific about the injury or the time he will be out."
Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Courtois has already undergone surgery in Barcelona and will be out for four months as a result. There are additional reports from several other European outlets that speculate the injury could sideline him for one to two months.
Courtois' absence likely opens the door for Begovic, who signed with Chelsea from Stoke City during the summer, to gain regular playing time.
The Bosnian 'keeper, although likely not overjoyed to see a teammate suffer a serious injury, will undoubtedly be pleasantly surprised that a chance at playing regularly has occurred so early into his Chelsea career. In July, Begovic admitted that he understood regular playing time was not guaranteed.
Courtois' injury is yet another blow for a Chelsea club that has stumbled out of the gate to start the season. The defending Premier League champions will look to collect their second win in five matches when they visit Everton on Saturday.