Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has confirmed that Andreas Christensen, Ross Barkley, Antonio Rudiger and N’Golo Kante won’t be available for the forthcoming Champions League group stage clash against Ajax.
Christensen is presently nursing a hamstring injury picked up on international duty earlier this month and Lampard has already confirmed that the Dane won’t be available for the remainder of October.
Speaking in a press conference, Lampard acknowledged that the likes of Rudiger and Kante have returned to training after their respective injuries (groin & adductor) but they won’t feature against Ajax on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Barkley seems to have overcome the ankle concern sustained over the weekend against Newcastle United and the manager has indicated that the England international may report to training by Thursday.
“Ross will hopefully be fit to train by Thursday. Rudiger trained with us today, he will be out of contention for the weekend [against Burnley]. N’Golo is similarly training but we’ll see for the weekend,” he was quoted as saying in a press conference by TalkSPORT.
Rudiger has resumed regular training after his unexpected groin injury setback but the German may not make an appearance this month with Lampard clearly stating that the defender is short of match fitness.
Kante, on the other hand, has experienced a frustrating beginning to the campaign where he has picked up multiple niggles and Lampard may think twice before introducing him back to the first-team fold.
The Frenchman has no doubt shown the eagerness to take the playing field shortly after his injury comebacks but Lampard may show more caution towards the midfielder’s fitness this time around.