Chelsea loanee Aaron Anselmino has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
According to French news publication L’Equipe, the 20-year-old is scheduled to undergo further tests to determine the severity of his injury, but will play no part in RC Strasbourg’s run-in.
Chelsea pulled Anselmino from his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund in a shocking decision that left both the player and the club stunned.
The Blues decided to loan him to Strasbourg for the rest of the season, but the Argentine defender has only featured three times for the Ligue 1 side.
His last appearance for Gary O’Neil’s side came in a 13-minute cameo against Nice.
That was only his third substitute appearance for Chelsea’s sister club after making his Strasbourg debut in the 2-2 draw against Olympique Marseille.
Anselmino has now been ruled out for the rest of the season and is primed to return to Chelsea when his loan spell expires this summer.
He could return to West London earlier if his hamstring problem is considered a serious issue.
Anselmino has barely kicked a ball for Chelsea since joining from Boca Juniors and was finally starting to get first-team minutes under his belt at Dortmund.
He featured 10 times across all competitions for Der BVB and impressed manager Niko Kovac in both the Champions League and the Bundesliga.
Despite starting just four of his six Bundesliga appearances, Anselmino was a bright spark for Dortmund.
The highly rated centre-back helped to keep two clean sheets while averaging 1.5 tackles, 3.8 ball recoveries, and 2.5 clearances per 90 minutes.
Standing at 6ft1, Anselmino won 60% of his aerial duels and was also decent in 1v1 situations, coming out on top in 52% of his ground battles.
Despite improving at Dortmund, Chelsea pulled him out of the club and sent him to Strasbourg to replace Mamadou Sarr, who has also struggled for playing time since moving to Stamford Bridge.
There have been several reports about the player being frustrated with his situation. It wouldn’t be surprising if he pushes for an early exit this summer.