Speaking to the press in the last few moments, Frank Lampard has shared a big injury update ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Tyneside this weekend.
The good news for us is that he’s confirmed star winger Christian Pulisic will miss out, along with centre-back Thiago Silva – who has only just returned from Brazil and is unlikely to travel up to Tyneside.
On the flip side, Chelsea will be boosted to hear that Ben Chilwell looks to have overcome a back injury sooner than expected, with training before England’s 4-0 win over Iceland.
Lampard has also confirmed that £70m signing Kai Havertz is back in training and in contention for Saturday after overcoming COVID-19.
As you can see below, Lampard has insisted that there’s “‘lots of challenges” facing his squad ahead of Saturday’s game, with several international stars (including Mason Mount) set to be assessed after only just returning today.
Here’s what Lampard’s had to say on all of the above:
“Christian Pulisic is not fit for Newcastle but he’s stepped up his training slowly, it’s been quite a problematic injury so we’ll stay cautious.”
“Kai Havertz is back, he has started training.
“Thiago Silva has just landed, he probably won’t be going to Newcastle because of the length of the journey and timings etc.”
“With Ben Chilwell, I haven’t seen him yet. He trained with England, was on the bench and got fantastic care so I am positive he will be okay but we will have to see.”
“We’re still waiting on some results from the tests that we now have to do.
“Unfortunately, some of our players are arriving back this afternoon, some played last night, so with the 12.30 KO on Saturday, there’s clearly a lot of challenges for us.”
So, they’ll be without Pulisic and Thiago Silva – the experienced centre-back who has brought some much needed stability to that previously shaky defence.
Blues fans will be delighted to hear Chilwell is ok, however, with him weighing in with two goals, two assists and three clean sheets in his five Premier League starts since his £50m summer move from Leicester.
As for us, we’ll be hoping the likes of Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser are able to pass late fitness tests after picking up hamstring issues before the international break.
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