Injury Boosr for Antonio Conte as Danny Drinkwater Finally Returns to Full Training with Chelsea First-team

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has received a welcome injury boost after summer signing Danny Drinkwater finally took part in training with the rest of the first-team squad. The £35m arrival from Leicester City is yet to make his debut for the club, having been ruled out of action with a calf injury picked up before he moved to west London. Since then, Chelsea’s squad has been ravaged by injury, with Alvaro Morata, N’Golo Kante and Victor Moses all picking up hamstring injuries amid concerns over Conte’s training methods.

Kante will definitely miss the weekend the weekend clash at home to Watford, with Conte picking a midfield three of David Luiz, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas in his absence against Roma. But neither Luiz nor Bakayoko were spotted in training on Thursday, with Chelsea posting a video on their YouTube account on Friday morning, with some reports suggesting they are carrying niggles.

At least Conte will soon be able to call on Drinkwater, with the England international taking to the training pitch for the first time this week – though he is not expected to be in contention for the Watford clash. Nevertheless, his potential return will be a massive relief, especially with Chelsea facing such a demanding fixture list.

Having already played twice since the close of the international break, Chelsea now have to contend with five games across the next 16 days.

Conte may see the midweek Carabao Cup tie against Everton as the ideal opportunity to give Drinkwater his first minutes of the season, with that match followed by league clashes against Bournemouth and Manchester United either side of an away trip to Rome. Conte’s already small squad is being stretched to breaking point with all their current injury problems, with some players reportedly fearing that his gruelling regime is the cause.

Comments

Real Madrid Left Back Marcelo Ruled Out for One Month while Toni Kroos will Miss Real Madrid's trip to Alaves

Real Madrid star Toni Kroos is set join Marcelo in the treatment room when Los Blancos visit Alaves on Saturday (23 September) after suffering a rib injury. The news is a fresh concern for Zinedine Zidane as Karim Benzema, Theo Hernandez, Jesus Vallejo and Mateo Kovacic are also ruled out for the visit to Mendizorroza due to various injuries. Kroos, 27, missed the last weekend's 3-1 victory over Real Sociedad due to a fitness problem. The Germany international returned to Zidane's starting line-up for Wednesday's 1-0 defeat to Real Betis and was able to complete the full 90 minutes. However, it looks like Kroos suffered a recurrence of the problem in that game after Real Madrid revealed on Friday morning that the midfielder skipped the final training session before Los Blancos' trip to Vitoria. Zidane himself later confirmed the blow in a press conference, adding that he expects the midfielder to recover in time for the crucial Champions League trip t...

Tottenham Close to Completing £23m Serge Aurier Transfer

Tottenham are closing in on a £23million move for Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier. The Ivory Coast international has been free to leave the French giants following the arrival of Dani Alves to the club. Aurier, 24, has been heavily linked with Manchester United and Chelsea but Spurs have shown the firmest interest in the right-back. Mauricio Pochettino sanctioned Kyle Walker’s £50million move to Manchester City on the basis that Kieran Trippier had shown he was a worthy replacement towards the end of last season. However, the Argentine wants greater strength in depth and the Evening Standard claim Spurs are close to a £23m deal and Aurier will sign a five-year deal. Aurier was denied entry into the UK last October for Paris Saint-Germain’s clash with Arsenal because he was found guilty of elbowing a police offer a month earlier. The ban is still in place but Aurier is currently contesting the charge and Spurs are clearly confident that he will win his case....

Chelsea Forward Lucas Piazon Suffers Broken Leg

Chelsea playmaker Lucas Piazon suffered a suspected broken leg last night. The 23-year-old was in action for Fulham, where is on loan for the season, when the injury occurred. The Brazilian forward, who scored a late equaliser against former club Reading over the weekend to secure Slavisa Jokanovic's 10 men an unlikely point, had to be carried off the pitch in the 35th minute of a Tuesday night (15 August) Championship stalemate at Leeds United after being hurt by a strong challenge from Conor Shaughnessy. The clash, which did not even produce a free-kick, left Piazon with a broken fibula. ‘We are so disappointed for this situation about Lucas Piazon. I believe he broke the fibula or broke the leg,’ said Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic. ‘It’s a very bad injury and we will lose him for a long time. It’s not a question about complaining – it can be bad luck or a tackle outside of the normal. ‘But I’m really disappointed with what I heard from one of the referees w...

Plauseorminus

Search This Blog