Chelsea's hopes of landing Jules Kounde have been rocked after France boss Didier Deschamps confirmed the defender will go under the knife for surgery.
Kounde lasted just 45 minutes in France's 1-0 defeat to Croatia in the Nations League.
He was hooked at half-time and replaced by Benjamin Pavard, with Deschamps revealing afterwards that the 23-year-old needs surgery to fix a long-term 'problem'.
'I knew very well his physical condition today,' Deschamps said when asked why he needed to withdraw Kounde.
'Tomorrow [Tuesday] he will have a [surgical] intervention because he has a problem that has been going on for several months.