Chelsea boss Frank Lampard believes a verdict on the club’s appeal against their transfer ban is “very close”.
The club have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) after an appeal to FIFA was rejected by the governing body.
Chelsea were banned from signing players during two transfer windows as a punishment for breaching rules on signing players under the age of 18.
The ban is due to end next summer but a successful appeal to Cas would see it lifted in January, enabling Lampard to bring in new players sooner rather than later.
Asked at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon if he had any update on the appeal, Lampard said: “I haven’t heard any more. I will wait and reserve judgement until we get that judgement and see where we want to go from there.”
However, asked when he believed a verdict would be known, he replied: “Very soon, I believe. Days, I think.”
In the meantime, Lampard is hoping that striker Tammy Abraham recovers from injury in time to be available for Wednesday’s game at home to Aston Villa.
Lampard said: “We’re giving him every possible chance to be fit. He’s still got some pain in the area of the injury, so we’ll make a judgement call tomorrow.”