Chelsea midfielder, Frank Lampard has suffered a fresh injury blow, which could see him sidelined for up to three weeks. The Chelsea and England midfield ace has reportedly injured his abductor muscle, near the groin area, during a training session
on Thursday.
The Englishman has been out of action since September this season, when he last featured for the Blues in a 2-0 victory against Stoke City in the Premier League. Lampard had a hernia operation on 31 August, 2010 and has since failed to
fully recover from the surgery.
Lampard’s absence from the game is the longest of his career. Labeled as ‘Mr. Consistent’ for his club, he holds the record for most consecutive appearances, starring in 164 Premier League matches, between October 2001 and December
2005. The industrious midfielder has built a reputation for resisting injuries and the elongated injury spell comes as a surprise to many football lovers.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will lock horns with Sunderland on Sunday in the English Premier League. Blues manager, Carlo Ancelotti was hoping to get his influential vice-captain ready for the game, but the fresh injury news will now limit the Italian’s selection
options.
Ancelotti said, “He had a problem during the session. He had done a fantastic session yesterday but then had an abductor problem. We have to wait for him. I think he will be out for three weeks, until December.”
Lampard’s absence means that Ancelotti now has to consider other midfield options for the clash on Sunday, as Lampard would have been a perfect replacement for the suspended midfielder, Michael Essien. The Ghanaian star was sent off in the closing
moments of Chelsea’s 1-0 win over London rivals Fulham on Wednesday night. Ancelotti will have to pick from Jon Obi Mikel, Ramires and Yuri Zhirkov to deputise in midfield.
But midfield is not the only worry for Chelsea, they have a number of key players out. Striker Didier Drogba is still recovering from a bout of Malaria, Nicholas Anelka is struggling with a back problem while defender Alex is ruled out of the game
with a knee injury.
Tags: