Omari Kellyman of Chelsea
Omari Kellyman of Chelsea (Image: Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Former Aston Villa forward Omari Kellyman's first season at Chelsea - a campaign which has been plagued by injury - has prematurely ended after he suffered another hamstring setback.
The latest relapse for Kellyman comes shortly after he made his return to the pitch, having been ruled out of action since August. He played 35 minutes in a 3-1 win over Norwich City in the Premier League 2 last week, but Kellyman won't be available again this term.
The teenager joined Chelsea from Villa for a fee in the region of £19m in the summer, in a deal which aided the Lions' cause as far as PSR was concerned; he hasn't yet kicked a senior ball for the first-team, however, and has featured for just 139 minutes across three appearances in the PL2.
He won't be adding to that tally, either, after confirming via social media that his season had forcibly come to an end. He posted: "Beyond gutted to say that this season has come to an early end for me due to a reinjury of my hamstring, despite only just returning after having hamstring issues for a massive part of this season.
"24/25 has been a tough season for me mentally and physically due to injury but it's important now that I take time to get this right and come out the other side stronger and better, ready for what next season brings."
Kellyman tasted first-team football at Villa under Unai Emery last season; he made six appearances, including in the Europa Conference League qualifier win over Hibernian, in the semi-final defeat in Olympiakos and in the Premier League fixtures with Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
Kellyman is a little way off Enzo Maresca's Chelsea first team for the time being, however, as he bids to return from his long term injury setback.
He moved to Chelsea in the summer as they and Villa discussed separate deals for Kellyman and left-back Ian Maatsen, who haded in the opposite direction.
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