Chelsea take on Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday and Frank Lampard is set to miss some of his key players once again.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has returned back from his long injury lay-off which is a huge boost for the Blues manager but as things stand, N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi will all miss the clash against Bayern Munich.
We had already gotten a hint of their absence early on Monday when reports had suggested that the trio have not arrived from training.
An update: I can confirm Christian Pulisic, N'Golo Kante and Callum Hudson-Odoi didn't train today at Cobham although Tammy Abraham did. Mateo Kovacic is the Chelsea player who will go to Stamford Bridge soon to speak to the media alongside Frank Lampard. #CFC #UCL
— Vaishali Bhardwaj (@VaiBhardwaj) February 24, 2020
She wrote on Twitter: “An update: I can confirm Christian Pulisic, N’Golo Kante and Callum Hudson-Odoi didn’t train today at Cobham although Tammy Abraham did. Mateo Kovacic is the Chelsea player who will go to Stamford Bridge soon to speak to the media alongside Frank Lampard.”
And later in the day, the club confirmed that Kante, Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic have indeed missed training and will not be available for selection when Chelsea take on Bayern Munich.
The report from the club stated: “Champions League preparations were in full swing at Cobham this morning as the Chelsea squad trained ahead of the first leg of our last-16 tie against Bayern Munich, although N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi remained absent.
“The trio have been in the treatment room in recent weeks and will likely be unavailable for selection for Frank Lampard when the Bundesliga leaders visit Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening.”
While the Chelsea boss does have the necessary players to replace his injured ones but with the absence of the trio, Lampard will surely lose a lot of bench strength which could be a key factor if they are to pick up anything against a side like Bayern Munich.
