Watford star Nathaniel Chalobah to undergo surgery after fracturing knee cap in freak training injury and is unlikely to feature again in 2017

  • Nathaniel Chalobah will undergo knee surgery after he fractured his knee cap
  • Watford midfielder was called into England squad last month after his £5m move
  • Former Chelsea youngster is unlikely to be fit in time for international break
  • No team-mate was understood to be involved during London Colney incident

Nathaniel Chalobah will undergo surgery after suffering a fractured knee cap.

Watford have confirmed the midfielder will have an operation after suffering a knee injury in training last week, but haven’t specified what the problem is.

But Sportsmail can reveal the England star has cracked his patella. 


Nathaniel Chalobah will undergo knee surgery after a freak knee injury suffered in training

Nathaniel Chalobah will undergo knee surgery after a freak knee injury suffered in training

The 22-year-old made an encouraging start to his career at Watford before suffering an injury

The 22-year-old made an encouraging start to his career at Watford before suffering an injury

Watford medics hope Chalobah will be training before the turn of the year; but the likelihood of him playing again in 2017 look small.  

'Whilst we can't put an exact timeline on his recovery, we are expecting to see him re-integrating into the squad well before the new year,' said Hornets performance director Gavin Benjafield.

No team-mate was understood to be involved when he suffered the injury at their London Colney base.

Chalobah, who was absent for Saturday's 2-1 win over Swansea, was named in Southgate's last squad to face Slovakia and Malta in August ahead of the 2018 World Cup this summer.

Though he did not play, he was expected to be picked again when the England manager names his squad on Thursday for next week's qualifiers against Slovenia and Lithuania.

 Chalobah was named in Southgate's last squad to face Slovakia and Malta in August

 Chalobah was named in Southgate's last squad to face Slovakia and Malta in August

England manager Gareth Southgate is a huge fan of the 22-year-old former Chelsea midfielder

England manager Gareth Southgate is a huge fan of the 22-year-old former Chelsea midfielder

Chalobah was part of the young Lions squad who played at the Euro Under 21 championship

Chalobah was part of the young Lions squad who played at the Euro Under 21 championship