Reece James is to have hamstring surgery in Finland that will rule the Chelsea captain out for around four months.
The decision for James to undergo surgery has been made following further specialist assessments on Wednesday.
James has suffered repeated injury hamstring problems and surgery leaves his Euro 2024 hopes in major doubt.
But James will hope surgery will give him a better chance of making a full recovery and reduce long-term hamstring issues.
James has suffered seven hamstring injuries in the last three years.
He missed two months at the start of the season following an injury in August and inured his hamstring again away at Everton earlier this month.
Chelsea has sought external advice and medical staff have make a decision in conjunction with the player and Mauricio Pochettino.
James also missed the World Cup in Qatar last year after suffering knee ligament damage, with his hopes of playing for England at Euro 2024 now in the balance.
His hamstring issues are believed to be an issue in both legs and have increased his risk of suffering other injuries like his subsequent knee problems.
