Chelsea's Kurt Zouma ruled out for six months, needs surgery

The France international will now miss the remainder of the Premier League season and will almost certainly play no part in the European Championship this summer.

The 21-year-old will undergo surgery "in the next 48 hours" according to a statement on the Chelsea website.

Zouma, who has made 32 appearances for the club this season and solidified his partnership with captain John Terry, landed badly after he contested a header against United.

"Scan today has shown I injured my anterior cruciate ligament. I will have surgery this week and will come back stronger," Zouma tweeted.

Chelsea's iconic captain of the past decade or so revealed recently that, as things stand, his contract was not due to be renewed by the club.

Roman Abramovich had reportedly decided that the 35-year-old would not get another deal, despite a long career of brilliant service on the pitch.

If Zouma's injury keeps him out until the summer, this doesn't really change Abramovich's stance. The Russian feels it's time to replace Terry and the only thing that will change that is if Zouma's injury turns out to be worse than currently feared or Chelsea are unable to land a suitable replacement for Terry.

Both scenarios seem unlikely, but Eurosport's Chelsea reporter Dan Levene disagrees, saying Zouma's injury means Chelsea must extend Terry's current deal.