Alvaro Morata's debut season at Chelsea has been full of ups and downs, though it's not looking too good for the Spanish striker at the moment.

He hasn't played for the Blues since January 17, when he was shown a red card against Norwich City in the FA Cup, and it would appear there is no return in sight.

A troublesome back injury has plagued Morata over the past three weeks and according to Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, he just can't shake it.

"We have been talking a lot about bad results but sometimes we forget we are facing a serious situation," said the Italian ahead of this weekend's action.

"Players like Morata, for us, are very important and have been missing for a long period of time. I don't know how long he will be out.

"We are struggling a lot to find a solution to solve the pain in his back. If you ask me whether he needs a day, a month or the rest of the season, I don't know.

"For this reason, I'm a bit worried. You know very well the importance of the player."

Somewhat concerning. Morata wasn't doing too badly for Chelsea prior to his injury, scoring 10 goals in 20 Premier League appearances and making four assists.

Conte's side are currently struggling for results as well - they've lost their last two league games 3-0 and 4-1 - so fans are hoping Morata isn't out for too much longer.

However, they might just change their opinion of the 25-year-old following his comments about returning to Real Madrid on Spanish show Espacio Reservado.

On the programme, which will be broadcasted on February 19, Morata is asked whether he has considered returning to the Spanish capital.

And his response will no doubt anger Chelsea fans. He said, per AS:

"Obviously I have to respect Chelsea, who made a huge effort to sign me and I'm very happy here, but Madrid will always be Madrid for me."

Morata may be happy at Stamford Bridge, but he only joined six months ago and is already thinking about returning to Real someday.

Zinedine Zidane has previously admitted he made a mistake by selling the Spaniard, too, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Morata back at Real in the near future.

"Looking at our squad, we may be missing a number nine," said Zidane in September. "I would have liked Morata to stay but he wanted to play more first-team football elsewhere."