Report: Chelsea suffer coronavirus blow ahead of pre-season preparation

Chelsea suffered a major setback in their preparation for the new campaign. As per Daily Mail, Chelsea recorded multiple coronavirus positive cases after players returned from holiday. The same report insists that players in question are now following the quarantine protocol.

The Premier League clubs are set to resume training next week ahead of the scheduled start of the 2020/21 season on September 12. Chelsea will begin the new campaign with an away trip to Brighton on September 14.

Positive cases allow less time for the group to train together

Frank Lampard will have less time to work with the complete group due to this coronavirus outbreak. The players are also expected to play for their national team in September for UEFA Nation League games before the new campaign kicks off.

Lampard will have the complete group for training one week before the clash against Brighton. It is not an ideal situation for Lampard since the club is set to have numerous new arrivals in the first-team squad.

Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner have already trained with the squad. The club confirmed the arrivals of Ben Chilwell and Malang Sarr this week. As per The Guardian, the English club are also looking to complete the signings of Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva.

New recruits are expected to take some time getting used to Premier League football. Lampard is set up for challenging times and we could see some players unavailable for the opening fixture.