CandH Exclusive by Hughie Southon

Kurt Zouma has received a second scan on his injured knee and whilst the news isn’t great it’s probably better than expected.

The scan has shown that the player has snapped a ligament at the back of his knee and it seems that surgery is unlikely to be necessary as the player starts on a rest and recovery programme.

The club medics are unready to put a precise date on his return with the view being that it could be anything between six to 12 weeks on the early prognosis.

Panicky earlier suggestions that he could be out for the rest of the season have been dismissed as have claims that his previously injured knee could be the problem.

He suffered a big injury on that which kept him out for months at Chelsea but we have learned the problem is on his “good knee” and fingers are firmly crossed for a quick recovery.