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Chelsea Coach Frank Lampard has confirmed that some key first-team players will miss this weekend’s game with Everton, MySportDab reports.
The Blues have provided an update on the fitness of five senior squad players in his pre-match press conference ahead of Everton’s visit to Stamford Bridge
.
Lampard has a serious selection problem this weekend, with a large number of injured players unavailable when Chelsea play next in the Premier League.
Both Willian and Mateo Kovacic limped off during the FA C
up fifth round win over Liverpool on Tuesday while Callum Hudson-Odoi has suffered another set-back with a new problem.
The 41-year-old also gave injury updates on Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but neither are expected to play against Everton.
Speaking on Hudson-Odoi, Lampard said: “He had a new injury on Thursday. He will have a scan and will be out longer than initially expected.”
The 41-year-old insists that Hudson-Odoi’s return has not been rushed and the medical team had not taken any unnecessary risks.
“It’s difficult for him,” Lampard said.
“He won’t be rushed back. All signs were he was good to train and got injured again in his first training session.
“Frustrating because as a young player he wants play but it’s also frustrating for us as a team.
“We have the worst injuries problem among the top clubs in the table, lots of players unavailable. We’re working against that to get good results.”
Willian and Kovacic both suffered Achilles injuries against Liverpool, the Kovacic ruled out of Sunday’s clash while Willian requires further tests.
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard says there is one major factor that has held the Blues back this season… pic.twitter.com/jskmgkYJIk— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) “Kovacic isn’t fit enough, out of the weekend but hopefully not for too long,” Lampard said.
“Willian is a possibility for Sunday, we will assess him.”
However, Frank Lampard also used his press conference to rule out N’Golo Kante Tammy Abraham against Everton as they continue to struggle injuries.
Also, defender Andreas Christensen missed the win over Liverpool with a slight problem but is expected to be available against Everton.
Elsewhere, Jorginho will also miss out due to suspension after picking up his 10th yellow card of this Premier League season against Bournemouth last week.
