Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has given updates on the fitness of a number of his players ahead of Saturday’s game against Brighton.
Speaking at a press conference, Lampard said youngsters Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James were “pushing” to be involved after impressing in the midweek Carabao Cup game against Grimsby. Both youngsters are fit again after injury.
Antonio Rudiger
“Out. Toni has got a recurring injury in the groin area – it’s not the original knee injury – so we’re trying to find a solution because he’s still got some pain.
“We are hopeful it still won’t be long, but I haven’t got an end-date. It’s ongoing.”
Andreas Christensen
“Andreas should be OK. He’s trained with us today. He’s missed most of the week. There’s still a tiny bit of pain but it’s hopefully not a risk, so he’ll be in the squad.”
Olivier Giroud
“It’s actually been a difficult week for him because it was quite a strong illness and left him pretty weak, so he’s been getting a bit of strength back this week. Touch and go and we’ll see whether he’s involved tomorrow.”
Emerson Palmieri
“Emerson is now going to be the other side of the international break with the hamstring injury.”
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
“Ruben we can’t give a date on but he’s outside jogging slowly, so that’s a positive move this week. It’s good to see him outside.
“We’ll see how that goes over the next weeks – probably months, but weeks as well.”
Hudson-Odoi and James
“They’re in the squad. They performed well the other day and I was delighted for Reece to get his first goal and Callum to get his goal.
“They still have improvement but they’re young players and they’ve shown the quality they have. Now they’re back fit, they’re pushing.
“I will be careful with Callum considering the type of injury he had. But that’s not to say he can’t play a major part in tomorrow’s game or a slightly lesser one.
“I’ll have to see, and pick the team on its merits with a bit of Callum’s personal injury situation in my mind.”