Samuel Chukwueze has undergone successful surgery on his left hip in London, AC Milan confirmed on Wednesday — an operation that rules the Nigeria winger out of this month's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Tanzania and, on the reported timelines, could keep him out until the spring.
Milan announced that the 27-year-old had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon of the tensor fasciae latae muscle in his left hip. The operation was performed by Professor Ernest Schilders, with club doctor Stefano Mazzoni in attendance, and the club said Chukwueze would return to Italy today to begin his rehabilitation.
Surgery after injections failed to settle it
Chukwueze first felt the hip problem around Milan's 3-2 Serie A win over Atalanta on October 18 and missed the build-up to the Europa League meeting with Bournemouth later that month. Milan initially tried to manage the injury without an operation, putting the winger through a course of injection treatment and a specialist consultation, with a reassessment planned after 10 to 15 days.
That conservative route has now been abandoned. Once it became clear the tendon damage needed repairing, Milan sent their winger to London — and the decision changes his season completely. The winger had been rebuilding his Milan career after returning from a loan spell at Fulham, recording two assists in eight appearances this season and working his way into Ruben Amorim's plans on the right flank.
How long will he be out?
Milan have given no official return date, and the reported estimates are sobering. Football Italia reports that Italian sources do not expect Chukwueze back before three months are up, with Corriere dello Sport putting the absence at at least three months and La Gazzetta dello Sport more pessimistic still, suggesting Amorim may have to cope without him until the spring. Other reports put the layoff at between three and five months, which could mean anything from 18 to 25 missed matches across Serie A, the Europa League and the Coppa Italia.
What is already certain is the short-term loss. Complete Sports confirms he is ruled out of Nigeria's 2027 AFCON qualifying double-header against Tanzania — the Super Eagles host the Taifa Stars in Uyo on November 13 before the return game in Dar es Salaam four days later.
So what does it mean for Milan and Nigeria?
For Milan, the timing is brutal. Chukwueze's fellow right-sided option Alexis Saelemaekers is also facing a long absence after ankle surgery, leaving Amorim short on that flank for the busiest stretch of the season — and one Italian report says Milan may now step up a January move to recall Zachary Athekame. A side that lost ground in the Bologna defeat last month can ill afford to lose its most direct winger for a third of the campaign.
For Nigeria, Eric Chelle loses his traditional right-wing outlet at the worst possible moment. The Super Eagles stumbled against Guinea-Bissau in September and cannot afford another slip, with Tanzania already qualified as co-hosts. Victor Osimhen is set to lead the line, but without Chukwueze's one-v-one threat, Chelle must find width from elsewhere. Our look at the greatest African players in Premier League history is a reminder of how rarely a winger of Chukwueze's profile comes along for Nigeria.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This is the cruellest kind of injury news — not a twist or a knock, but a season quietly rewritten in an operating theatre. Milan were right to try injections first, but every week spent hoping has been added to a recovery that now runs deep into 2027. Chukwueze was finally becoming the player Milan thought they had bought from Villarreal; now both Amorim and Chelle must plan as if he is gone until spring, and treat anything earlier as a bonus.
How big a blow is this for Nigeria's AFCON qualifying campaign — and who should Chelle turn to on the right wing against Tanzania? Let us know in the comments.
