Chelsea will be without N’Golo Kante when they take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League meaning Jorginho could finally feature for the Blues.
Kante was taken off vs Watford with 12 minutes still left on the clock and speaking ahead of the Palace game, Frank Lampard has revealed that the Frenchman has picked up a hamstring injury and could be on the sidelines for some time.
‘Kante won’t be in the squad,’ Lampard said in his press conference.
‘He has a low-level hamstring injury. We’re hoping it’ll be a week or so. I would expect we’ll be very lucky to have him for Sheffield United.’
The injury to Kante automatically means that Jorginho should come into the starting XI and slot into that defensive midfielder’s role on Tuesday. But when Lampard was asked this very same question, the manager failed to give a concrete answer.
The manager added: ‘He’s been very professional about it. He wants to play as every player does.
‘One of the hardest parts of the job is telling a player they’re not playing, particularly when they train well, and Jorginho always trains well.
‘He has handled it professionally, and that’s what I would expect. It’s important players over the course of a long season, in a competitive squad like we have, are there to support other players when they’re playing and they’re out.
‘We’ll see with my selection tomorrow whether he plays.’
Jorginho has clearly fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea since the resumption of the season and we do not think the Italian will get a start vs the Eagles as well.
Billy Gilmour replaced N’Golo Kante during the 3-0 win against Watford and it will not be a big surprise to see the youngster is chosen ahead of Jorginho on Tuesday at Selhurst Park.
