Mason Mount has sent a message to Chelsea fans after having minor surgery following an extended period battling injury.
The English midfielder was ruled out by Frank Lampard for likely the rest of the season having hardly featured under the interim manager. His only appearance so far came in a 16 minute cameo against Brighton.
Mount has struggled with fitness issues since mid-February and missed five league games in a row under Graham Potter with an abdomen problem. With little left to play for until the summer, Mount took to Instagram to update fans on his progress.
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"Had a minor procedure yesterday to sort out a discomfort I had for a while," he wrote. "Everything went well and I’m feeling good. Time to rest but can’t wait to get back to training in the coming weeks! Thanks for all your messages of support and a massive thank you to the medical team, doctors and nurses for looking after me."
It comes after Lampard revealed the extent of the damage for both him and Reece James leading up to the Brentford clash on Wednesday.
"Mason Mount is the same [probably out for the season]. Potential for the last game of the season but probably not. That's obviously disappointing for us."
He also added that it was a massive blow for the club: "For all of us because they're big players. Reece had a hamstring he picked up in the Madrid game, he got through the game but we scanned it the following day. Mason has been carrying this pelvic injury for quite a while, it pre-dates myself.
"We've been trying and the medical staff have been trying but we've got to the stage now where he'll have a minor surgery. Probably a four-week recovery and we know where that gets us to."
Mount is at the centre of key contract talks with the club moving into the summer, a time that could see him sold by the club. After playing through injury in recent weeks Lampard added on the situation: "I did appreciate it as it is important you have players who want to go that extra mile.
"Knowing them as lads, I am not surprised. Reece also was possibly the best player on the pitch with a dodgy hamstring so it shows what level of player he is. With Reece, we’ve got to try and find a way of using all that capacity that he has got and make him available more because he is a top player in my opinion.
"Mason has been the same, he has played through this because he wants to contribute to this club and they are players that really want to contribute to Chelsea and what it is all about. That’s the desire you need and without it, you can’t be a top player at Chelsea. Those two are the epitome of that."
When asked if he had played his last game for the club, he answered: "I don’t know the answer to that, it’s a conversation between Mason and the club, so I don’t know. It’s not final at this point and we’ll have to see because those conversations are ongoing.
"It’s a shame for me personally because I think everyone knows how I feel about working with Mason and I like to think he feels the same about me and we could have done with him in the games we’ve played already this season. But the bigger picture is something that’s going to become clearer in the next weeks and months, and that will be the club and Mason together having conversations."
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