Chelsea rubbishes Schalke claims of second surgery for Baba Rahman

English Premier League Chelsea have rubbished claims by German club Schalke that their Ghana defender Baba Rahman would require a second surgery over his serious knee injury.

The Bundesliga side claimed on Monday that they are not taking an offer to hand the left-back another loan deal from the Blues because he suffered a relapse in his recovery.

Schalke's sporting director Christian Heidel claimed on Monday that Baba would require a new surgery as the recovery of the Ghana defender is not going as planned.

Rahman spent last term on loan at Schalke from Chelsea but his season was rocked by the knee injury he suffered while playing for Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

The left-back has since not returned to the pitch and Schalke claimed they had pulled out of the deal to sign the Ghanaian for another loan stint because he would require a new surgery.

However a trusted Chelsea correspondent Nizaar Kinsella says the Ghanaian is staying at the Blues to stay fit despite the claims of Schalke.

Baba Rahman does not require any new surgery, despite what Schalke's Christian Heidel said recently. Staying at Chelsea to get fit," Kinsella wrote.

Rahman’s Chelsea career has not quite panned out as one might have expected when the Blues forked over £14m (plus bonuses) to sign the 21-year-old Ghanaian international from FC Augsburg where he was one of the Bundesliga’s breakout stars.

Under Mourinho and then Hiddink, Baba made 23 appearances in what was a turbulent first season at Stamford Bridge, never quite managing to impress either manager while the rest of Chelsea’s title-winners crumbled around him.

Known more for his attacking prowess than defensive ability, Baba also failed to impress Antonio Conte last summer — he was too attacking for Conte’s 4-2-4 setup — and was sent on loan to Schalke 04 instead.

Baba Rahman does not require any new surgery, despite what Schalke's Christian Heidel said recently. Staying at #CFC to get fit

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) August 29, 2017

At Schalke, Baba was splitting time with now-Arsenal left back Sead Kolašinac before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana.

But in their very first game of the competition, Baba blew out his knee and was ruled out for the rest of the season and beyond.

Knee injuries are never easy and Baba’s ACL and meniscus tears were turning out to be “more complex” than anticipated.

Baba was seen recently doing some light ball-work at Cobham, but since he’s not expected to be able to contribute at all until later this year (which also rules him out from backup duties to Marcos Alonso), they’ve moved on to other targets.

A loan in January might make sense, but we’ll just have to wait and see how things go for the 23-year-old.