The Daily Echo reports that Swansea star and Chelsea target Fernando Llorente will miss the beginning of the season with a broken arm.
Llorente has been linked with a move to Chelsea this summer as the Blues look to strengthen their squad for the 2017/18 season where they will look to defend their Premier League title and prove their worth as they return to the Champions League.
An accidental injury while on a cycling trip over the summer means that the forward, who scored 15 goals for Swansea last season, will miss the first two games of the season.
With Diego Costa very close to a move away from Chelsea, they only have Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi as their strikers for the upcoming season so they will look to bring in Morata’s fellow countryman Llorente as a backup.
Paul Clement had this to say on Llorente’s injury.
Fernando’s rehabilitating individually – he has not joined the team training yet, but assuming all goes well, we anticipate that happening in the next 10 days.
I think it is unlikely he will be involved in the first couple of games, but his return will not be long after that.
The most important thing is that we get the arm right. You don’t want him to re-fracture it and then end up with Fernando needing surgery, because a six-week injury can then become a six-month injury.
Swansea had reportedly slapped a £30 million price tag on Llorente’s head to ward off any interest from the Premier League champions. Llorente played under Antonio Conte during his time at Juventus and knows the Chelsea head coach well.
