Nicolas Jackson missed Chelsea’s last match due to an injury sustained against West Ham, and it now appears that his absence will be longer than expected.

The forward underwent medical tests on Wednesday, February 12, which revealed that the situation is worse than initially thought.

Jackson has been ruled out until early April due to a hamstring injury sustained during the 2-1 win over West Ham on February 3. Initial evaluations underestimated the injury’s seriousness, but further scans revealed a more severe condition, sidelining the 23-year-old Senegalese player for approximately six weeks.

The Senegalese striker (with 14 caps) will be a massive miss for the West Londoners.

That recovery is not expected to be complete anytime soon, and leaves Chelsea with a crisis in attack.

Enzo Maresca also has Marc Guiu out injured, meaning that the Blues do not have an out-and-out striker available.

With both players out, Chelsea faces a shortage of natural center-forwards, complicating the tactical plans and selection process for the upcoming fixtures.

Read: Don’t worry, Chelsea can’t send Jadon Sancho back to Old Trafford

Jackson, who has scored nine and assisted for four more this season per transfermarkt, won’t be back until the match against Tottenham on April 2 at the very earliest.

Marc Guiu is also injured and with Joao Felix having departed on loan, the West Londoners are now in the embarrassing position of having no recognised strikers for the next few weeks.

Currently in fourth position in the Premier League table, the Blues are in with a chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR