Mateo Kovacic could be fit to face Sheffield United
According to Football.london, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is hopeful that midfielder Mateo Kovacic will be fit to face Sheffield United.
The Blues take on the Blades having overtaken Leicester City to the third spot. A win will further cement our place in the top four as the season draws to a close.
Chelsea cannot afford to drop any points. The chasing pack of Leicester and Manchester United is at our heels and ready to take advantage of any slip-up.
The midfield however remains a concern for Lampard owing to a spate of ill-timed injuries. N’Golo Kante injured himself against Watford while Billy Gilmour was taken off at Crystal Palace.
Lampard has confirmed that youngster Gilmour will miss the rest of the season.
Thankfully Kovacic is closing in on a return and could even make the squad against Sheffield. (h/t Football.london)
The Croatian picked up an Achilles’ tendon issue in the defeat to West Ham and had missed both of our wins over Watford and Palace.
The 26-year-old has been one of our key players this season. He has scored twice and assisted three more in 41 appearances in the Chelsea midfield. (h/t Transfermarkt)
The absence of both Gilmour and Kante could also see Italian international Jorginho brought back into the fold.
The 28-year-old has been pushed down the pecking order and has played just ten minutes since the restart. It is debatable if he would even have been brought on had Gilmour not gone down injured.
But given our predicament, we cannot afford to not use every resource available to us. The Italian is a crafty, experienced player who can help us through the season.
Another player who is set to miss out is defender Fikayo Tomori. The defender is however expected to return to the fold against Norwich City. (h/t Football.london)
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The Blues have done well all season to hold onto a top-four position. It would be detrimental if we were to throw it away now.
The club’s ability to attract the best talents will depend on how we perform on the pitch. So far, Lampard has done extremely well.