Chelsea’s £26m January signing hamstring injury

Malo Gusto has returned to Chelsea to recover from a hamstring injury he picked up while on loan at Lyon.

The London-based club has confirmed that the 19-year-old defender will spend time under the supervision of the Blues’ medical staff at Cobham after being ruled out for an extended period of time after picking up the injury in the first half of a French Cup match against Lille, which Gusto’s side eventually won on penalties.

Gusto signed for Chelsea in January from Lyon for £26.3m, and was loaned straight back to the French side to continue his career.

However, he added just two more appearances for Lyon to the 15 he made ahead of joining the Premier League side in January, before picking up his injury last week.

As Sportsmail previously reported after the Lille match, Lyon manager Laurent Blanc said it was not a tear, adding: ‘It’s not a big problem, but it bothers him physically and mentally.’

However, it appears the situation is more serious than previously thought, hence why Gusto is working with his new colleagues at Chelsea, instead of in France.

Gusto’s absence is a big blow for Lyon, where he has been a regular starter for the side who currently sit ninth in the Ligue 1 table.

Lyon, sans Gusto, will play a league clash away to Auxerre on Friday night, while Chelsea’s next challenge is a Premier League fixture against Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

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When Gusto is integrated into the Chelsea line-up, he is expected to compete for position with Reece James, who has also struggled with injury this term.

Speaking about Gusto’s time at Cobham this week, manager Graham Potter said: ‘Malo is here to help with his rehab, the club made that decision. But it’s nice to meet him and nice to see him in person around the building. But we’re just trying to help him get back fit.’