Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has suffered knee ligament damage and will miss Saturday’s meeting with Leeds United.

The Lowdown: Looking for the double

The Whites travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon with Javi Gracia looking for back-to-back wins in the Premier League as Leeds head coach. His first game in charge ended in a 1-0 win over Southampton, a result that took Leeds out of the relegation zone.

Another victory will see the Whites do the double on the Blues after a 3-0 victory at Elland Road back in August, when Jesse Marsch and Thomas Tuchel were in the respective dugouts.

Silva played the entirety of the game in Yorkshire earlier this season, however, the Chelsea star won’t be featuring this weekend.

The Latest: Injury update

Graham Smyth took to Twitter in the last 48 hours to relay an update from Stamford Bridge regarding Silva.

He said that the centre-back has suffered ‘knee ligament damage’ and ‘misses the Leeds game’, with his post receiving plenty of interaction from Leeds supporters.

The Verdict: Boost for Gracia

Silva has been a regular under both Tuchel and Graham Potter, making 27 appearances in all competitions. The 38-year-old has shown he is still at the top of his game this season and has been one of the club’s top performers, as per WhoScored.

He’s come in for praise from Potter and Gary Neville in recent months, so knowing that he won’t be available will come as a boost to Gracia.

Chelsea do have a total of five senior centre-backs, though, so it’s not as if Potter is short of options following this news.