https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/12/07/
lampard-chelsea-injury-update-and-press-conference-krasnodar
Lampard reports two out injured, confirms starts for Gilmour and Kepa, and
explains what he wants to see tomorrow
07 Dec 2020
Hamstring injuries will rule Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi out of
tomorrow's Champions League group stage finale, but Frank Lampard has
confirmed Kepa and Billy Gilmour will play against Krasnodar.
https://i.imgur.com/N1eW0If.jpg
Our victory in Seville last week secured top spot in Group E with a game
to spare so Lampard will be able to rotate his squad again. Some of those
changes will be enforced because of injury, the boss reported at his press
conference today.
'Hakim Ziyech is going for a scan this afternoon so I will have more
information on his hamstring injury tomorrow,' said Lampard after the
Moroccan limped off against Leeds. 'He's out.
'Callum Hudson-Odoi is also out. He had a hamstring problem in training
yesterday too.'
Lampard spoke further about Ziyech's injury issues since joining Chelsea
'He came to us at the back-end of last season and trained a lot. The
injury [in pre-season] was disappointing and he missed some weeks, but
straightaway he showed his intensity to work in the gym and on the
training pitches as soon as he was back, and that was why he hit the
ground running when he came into the team.
'I hope this is a minor injury. The feeling he had since the game is that
it doesn't feel too bad, which I'm hoping means we'll be talking a couple
of weeks, but we will wait for the scan. I'm not worried too much, he's a
fit lad, and he's shown he will be an important player for us.'
In a break with tradition, Lampard revealed two members of his starting XI
'Kepa starts. With goalkeepers they have to be patient. Edou has been a
regular pick with his form. This game is a game for Kepa who is training
brilliantly well, acting brilliantly well. These periods will happen in
players' careers. Sometimes they make youstronger and better at the other
end.
https://i.imgur.com/9CgcugZ.jpg
'Kepa's been very supportive with Edou. What I see is someone who is
supporting him, and training really well which is the main thing I look
at. They have to push each other and I see that. His reaction has been
spot on.
'Billy will start tomorrow,' added Lampard. 'I value him a lot in this
squad. You can say we have a lot of options in this squad but that can
quickly change as you've seen with the winger situation. So I don't want
to think about that [Gilmour leaving on loan] until the window opens.'
Lampard was asked how he thinks Kai Havertz has settled in at Chelsea
'He's fitting in really well. He had really strong symptoms of Covid. He
was ill and struggling for quite a while. Not all the players have had it
like that. Some have been symptom-free. We had to factor that in and
that's why it took two weeks before we started him.
'Going into when he fell ill his form was fantastic. He was playing some
really good stuff in the no.8 role, but Covid cut that short. I have no
worries long-term, in fact the opposite. He is going to be a huge player
for this football club. He has all the attributes and personality and
attitude. He is going to be a top-class player.
'We have to understand some of the best players that graced the Premier
League found it hard for quite a long time, and I think Kai has actually
been very good.'
Lampard explained what he wants from tomorrow's game
'Certainly no injuries, and some minutes for people who have not played as
much as they would want and to show they deserve to play more, and to gain
some more match fitness.
'You can't switch the idea of winning on and off, so I want to see the
right attitude in how we approach the game.'