Frank Lampard has suggested Kalidou Kouliably will not play again this season in another injury blow for the Chelsea interim boss. Koulibaly, who joined the Blues from Napoli in a £34million deal last summer, suffered a hamstring injury that forced him off in the first leg of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid. Lampard has been impressed with the Senegal international since his return to Stamford Bridge last month but with six games of the season left, the 31-year-old could sit out for the remainder of the campaign.
‘Koulibaly is out for a while still,’ Lampard told a press conference on Monday. ‘I think it will be a tight call for the end of the season. He’s working away [from the group]. I’ve been impressed with him as a professional, he’s doing his job very well, but unfortunately the injury was a tough one.’
Chelsea are already without both Reece James and Mason Mount for the rest of the season. James, who has been hampered by injury this term, picked up a knock in the home leg against Real Madrid with Mount, who will enter the final year of his contract this summer, undergoing minor surgery on a pelvic bone injury. ‘Reece James is unavailable, probably out for the season’ Lampard said last week. Mason is probably the same. There’s potential for him to be back for the last game of the season but probably not. ‘It is a blow for all of us as they’re all big players. Reece had a hamstring injury that he picked up against Madrid. He got it in the game and we picked it up with scans in the following few days. Mason has been carrying this pelvic injury for a while and it pre-dates myself for a while. I have been trying and the medical staff have been trying. But it has got to the stage where he will have a minor surgery and it will probably be a four-week recovery.
Chelsea are on a run of five straight defeats and head to the Emirates to take on Arsenal on Tuesday. Frank Lampard has suggested Kalidou Kouliably will not play again this season in another injury blow for the Chelsea interim boss. Koulibaly, who joined the Blues from Napoli in a £34million deal last summer, suffered a hamstring injury that forced him off in the first leg of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid. Lampard has been impressed with the Senegal international since his return to Stamford Bridge last month but with six games of the season left, it looks likely that the 31-year-old will sit out for the remainder of the campaign.
‘Koulibaly is out for a while still,’ Lampard told a press conference on Monday. ‘I think it will be a tight call for the end of the season. He’s working away [from the group]. I’ve been impressed with him as a professional, he’s doing his job very well, but unfortunately the injury was a tough one.’
Chelsea are already without both Reece James and Mason Mount for the rest of the season. James, who has been hampered by injury this term, picked up a knock in the home leg against Real Madrid with Mount, who will enter the final year of his contract this summer, undergoing minor surgery on a pelvic bone injury. ‘Reece James is unavailable, probably out for the season’ Lampard said last week. Mason is probably the same. There’s potential for him to be back for the last game of the season but probably not. ‘It is a blow for all of us as they’re all big players. Reece had a hamstring injury that he picked up against Madrid. He got it in the game and we picked it up with scans in the following few days. Mason has been carrying this pelvic injury for a while and it pre-dates myself for a while. I have been trying and the medical staff have been trying. But it has got to the stage where he will have a minor surgery and it will probably be a four-week recovery.
Chelsea are on a run of five straight defeats and head to the Emirates to take on Arsenal on Tuesday. With Koulibaly, James and Mount all unavailable for selection, Lampard will have to rely on his remaining squad members to try and get back to winning ways in what has been an incredibly difficult period for the Blues. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.