Chelsea certainly have plenty of quality depth in defensive positions, and it looks like they will need every bit of it at the start of the season.
It’s been confirmed by the Blues this week that Levi Colwill has undergone surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
As a result, the 22-year-old central defender is expected to be unavailable for quite some time, with ACL injuries commonly taking between six and nine months to recover from.
Chelsea fans would like to sign a Colwill replacement to give them a boost before the start of the new 2025/26 season. However, journalist Fabrizio Romano reports via X that Enzo Maresca’s side are not actively looking to sign a new centre-half.
🚨🔵 Chelsea have not activated any immediate ‘emergercy plan’ to sign new centre back after Levi Colwill injury.
Club has full trust in current squad, also with Jorrel Hato joining last week and able to play at CB/LB. pic.twitter.com/x0XBptkBec
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2025
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Levi Colwill playing for Chelsea against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Benoit Badiashile targets injury return in September
On top of Colwill’s injury, Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile is currently sidelined after sustaining a problem at the Club World Cup. In fact, Badiashile was spotted on crutches after he was forced off in the quarter-final victory against Benfica last month.
According to Football.London, Badiashile is set to return to action at the beginning of September.
It is explained that the 24-year-old defender is currently doing individual work at Cobham away from the main squad.
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The report adds that the French centre-half is ahead of schedule for his return and is targeting a comeback in early September.
Even though Badiashile will miss the opening weeks of the 2025/26 season, it is positive news that he’s not facing a long spell on the sidelines. On paper, he’s the most natural replacement for Colwill in the Blues squad as the left-sided centre-back.
Benoit Badiashile playing for Chelsea against Djurgarden in the Conference League.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
A huge Chelsea opportunity for Benoit Badiashile
It’s fair to point out that Badiashile slipped down Chelsea’s defensive pecking order under Maresca.
Competition Appearances Minutes played
Conference League 11 916
Premier League 5 333
Club World Cup 2 160
Conference League qualifiers 2 180
Carabao Cup 2 180
Benoit Badiashile for Chelsea in the 2024/25 season
However, if the ball-playing defender is on top of his game, he can still offer a lot to the squad. He could suddenly become an important player while Colwill recovers from his ACL injury, too.
Chelsea have been encouraged by Badiashile and his development, even though fans are sceptical about him. Many people have completely written him off at Stamford Bridge, but the window may be open for him to get back into favour once he’s back fit himself.