Chelsea fear Romelu Lukaku ankle injury will rule him out for minimum of two to three weeks

Chelsea fear Romelu Lukaku will not be able to play again before the next international break with the striker expected to miss at least two to three weeks with the ankle injury he suffered against Malmo.

Lukaku was forced off in the first half of Chelsea’s 4-0 Champions League success after twisting his ankle under a challenge from Malmo’s Lasse Nielsen that resulted in a penalty.

The Belgian left Stamford Bridge on crutches as a precaution on Wednesday night and underwent scans on Thursday, but his ankle was still too swollen to be sure of how long he will be out.

Initial assessments suggested that Lukaku will miss at least two or three weeks and further examinations will confirm the likelihood of him playing before the next international break, which comes after Chelsea host Burnley on November 6.

Given the comfortable run of fixtures before the international break, starting with Saturday’s visit of Norwich City, Chelsea are unlikely to take any chances over their £97.5 million record signing although Lukaku’s agent Federico Pastorello believes he will work to try to return as soon as possible.

Pastorello, who was at the Malmo game, said: “I was very worried because Romelu is a player who really wants to play and the fact he stayed lying on the pitch so long after the penalty, it doesn't look good to me because he is someone who immediately stands up.

"The fact he was down for four minutes, I was with Petr Cech and I told him while watching the game that it was something I was scared about because he isn't one to make a fake scene.

"When he stood up I thought it is not a good sign and now we are waiting for the exams, so we will know something more soon.

"But if you see the pictures and the video of the injury, the position of the ankle is really under the weight of the body, but he is a strong boy and he wants so much to play every game so he will be back stronger soon I am sure.”

Speaking to Sky Sports, Pastorello added: “He was very sad actually yesterday as a first reaction but everybody was seeing he was playing a good game and I am 100 per cent sure he would have scored goals [had he stayed on].

"He was on fire, but he is really concentrated and will be focused on his recovery as soon as possible.

"He has his physio at home so he is working hard every evening even before he goes to sleep so if there is a time to come back it will be earlier than planned."