Chelsea news: Thibaut Courtois plays down fears of gruesome 'eye injury'

The Chelsea goalkeeper sat out of Belgium's 1-1 friendly draw with Netherlands on Wednesday

Courtois' bloodshot eye was captured by television cameras (Twitter)

Thibaut Courtois has played down fears that he has suffered a serious injury to his left eye after he sat out of Belgium’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.

The Chelsea goalkeeper was only named as a substitute for the friendly in Amsterdam on Wednesday, with Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet starting between the posts in his place.

Television images later showed Courtois sitting among the substitutes with a severely bloodshot left eye, leading some to speculate that this was why he was absent from Roberto Martinez’s starting line-up.

Courtois, however, has allayed such fears by taking to social media and insisting that the problem does not affect his ability to play.

"Everything's ok with my eye,” Courtois tweeted, “…had it for 2 weeks and doesn't effect [sic] my goalkeeping".

Courtois played with the subconjunctival haemorrhage, likely caused by a burst vessel, during Chelsea’s 5-0 demolition of Everton.

Subconjunctival haemorrhages are usually harmless and cause no visual obstruction. They generally fade or disappear completely within two weeks.

Chelsea have already suffered one casualty during the current international break, with Diego Costa withdrawing from Spain’s squad with a groin injury.

The 28-year-old striker, who tops the Premier League’s goalscoring charts with nine in 11 appearances so far, will miss his national side’s fixtures against Macedonia and England.