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

Juventus Manager Allegri Signs Contract Extension Untill 2020

Massimiliano Allegri has signed a new contract with Juventus, keeping him with the Serie A side until 2020, the Turin outfit have confirmed. The 49-year-old will remain at Juventus Stadium for another three seasons, having guided the Old Lady to a third successive domestic double. Allegri helped Juve win the Serie A and Copa Italia titles this season, and guided them to the Champions League final. Since taking over at Juventus Stadium in 2014, he has won the domestic double each season and has a 69 per cent winning rate. The former midfielder had been linked with a move to Arsenal before Arsene Wenger agreed a new two-year deal, but will now remain in Turin until the end of the 2019-20 season. In a statement, Juventus said: "Juventus is pleased to announce that Massimiliano Allegri has signed a contract renewal at the club until 2020. "Today's agreement extends a working relationship that has seen the Bianconeri consolidate their position as Italy's...

Barcelona Summer Signing Ousmane Dembele Suffers Fresh Injury Blow

Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele is set to be on the sidelines for around "three to four weeks" after suffering a fresh hamstring injury during the Catalan's 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday. The 20-year-old winger moved to the Nou Camp from Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer window in deal worth £93.4m plus €40m in add-ons. The Frenchman spent more than three months on the sidelines as a result before returning to action during Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo in La Liga on 4 January.Earlier on September Dembele was indeed forced to undergo a surgery after rupturing the "tendon in his femoral bicep in his left thigh" during a clash with Getafe when he was only making his third appearance for the club. Dembele has since made three more appearances, playing 25 minutes during the win over Real Sociedad after replacing Paulinho in the second half. But the Frenchman will miss the upcoming games after Barcelona revealed that th...

Roma Midfielder Signs New Deal with Italian Club

Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan has signed a new four-year contract with the Serie A club. The 29-year-old Belgium international had been linked with Manchester United in Italian media, while Chelsea were also reported to be interested. This was coupled by suggestions that Nainggolan was growing impatient with the numerous delays in receiving a contract proposal from the capital club. However, the 29-year-old has put any doubts about his future to bed by extending his contract until 2021, in a deal that will see him earn €4.5 million per season, including bonuses, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I think I have demonstrated that this is what I always wanted," Nainggolan said. "I'm very happy that the club and I can continue our adventure and move forward together." Nainggolan has played 161 times for Roma since joining from Cagliari in 2014. Nainggolan becomes the third senior central midfielder to extend their contract at Roma th...

Plauseorminus

Search This Blog