Chelsea suffer blow as Antonio Rudiger is unlikely to recover from knee injury in time for next season... and is set to miss huge opener against Manchester United By Kate Mcgreavy For Mailonline Published: 15:45 BST, 19 June 2019 | Updated: 15:45 BST, 19 June 2019 Viewcomments Chelsea suffered a blow on Wednesday as defender Antonio Rudiger is unlikely to recover from a knee injury in time for the beginning of next season. The German centre half did not feature for the Blues last season after limping off against Manchester United at the end of April. Rudiger had an operation on his knee and is now set to miss Chelsea's highly-anticipated opening match against Manchester United, according to The Telegraph. Antonio Rudiger is unlikely to recover from a knee injury in time for beginning of next season The 26-year-old reportedly does not want to return to action earlier than planned and could also sit out the Super Cup tie against Liverpool on August 14. Having missed two weeks with an original knee injury, Rudiger was rushed back for the clash at Old Trafford last season in order to play a lead role in Chelsea's efforts to regain their Champions League status. But the move backfired as Rudiger missed the latter stages of the campaign, although the Blues did finish third and won the Europa League. He did not feature for Blues last season after limping off against Man United at the end of April Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility