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Chelsea manager Frank Lampard believes that it is too soon for talks about the involvement of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech against West Ham United. The Blues face the Hammers on Monday night in a game in which Lampard will be desperate to return to winning ways.
Since winning against Leeds United at Stamford Bridge early in the month, Chelsea have drawn one and lost two in all competitions. Both defeats occurred in the Premier League, pushing the Blues down the table.
Last weekend, Chelsea went behind against Everton in the 22nd minute to a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty. Despite their best efforts, the Blues failed to find a way through at Goodison Park and ended up losing the game.
Things turned from bad to worse in midweek against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux. Chelsea went ahead with a goal from Olivier Giroud at the start of the second half. However, Daniel Podence restored parity in the 66th minute. It appeared as though the two sides would share the spoils, only for Pedro Neto to pop up and score the winner late in injury time.
As such, the Hammers game is a must-win for Lampard, but it is unclear whether the Englishman can call up his two trusted stars for the tie.
Chelsea manager will make final decision on the duo ahead of the game
Both Hudson-Odoi and Ziyech were sidelined with hamstring injuries, but the duo returned to full training with the Chelsea squad on Friday. That has raised hopes that they might be in contention for Monday’s game against West Ham United.
Lampard would have liked to have the two players fit and available for selection ahead of the crunch tie. Ziyech has already impressed for Chelsea, while Hudson-Odoi can also make a difference on the pitch. They would certainly have given David Moyes a lot to think about on Monday.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Lampard provided an update on the two men. The Englishman revealed that since it was the first time the two players had trained since their injuries, he would wait for a couple of days to make the final decision.
It is their first day back with the group today [Friday] training at a decent level, so I will have to see how they are the next two or three days to see if they make West Ham.
Lampard did go on to state that Chelsea did not have any fresh injury issues, which will be a relief for fans.
