In the third matchday of 1997–98 Serie A, Kanchelskis suffered an ankle injury after a hard tackle from Internazionale defender Taribo West, punished only with a yellow card. Returning to action after 40 days in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Italy in Moscow, he collided with Gianluca Pagliuca and suffered a fracture in his knee, being sidelined until the end of the season after only contributing with 17 appearances and two goals.