​Chelsea are keen to open talks with Antonio Rudiger over a new contract at Stamford Bridge, even though he has played only 45 minutes of football this season.

The 26-year-old has been plagued with injury in recent months, undergoing knee surgery towards the back end of last season, which ruled him out of the Europa League final win over Arsenal, before breaking down upon his short-lived return to the team with a hip injury.
Antonio Ruediger
Rudiger underwent further surgery to correct that problem last week and is expected to be ruled out until December. His poor injury record hasn't stopped from Chelsea from wanting to discuss fresh terms, though, with MailOnline Sport claiming that the club want to 'accelerate' talks.

The German has two years left on his current deal in west London, and it's claimed that the Blues hierarchy wish to tie down his long-term future in an attempt to ward off unwanted transfer speculation.