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...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Could Make Man United Return this Year, Says Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is confident Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be available for Manchester United before the end of the year. The Swedish striker - who has been regularly updating his Instagram followers of his rehabilitation from a knee injury - has this week begun doing some very light ball work with the club's coaching staff at Carrington. Ibrahimovic signed a new one-year deal at United on August 24 after the first serious injury of his career cut short a stellar first season at Old Trafford earlier this year. The player's doctor Freddie Fu has warned against rushing his return and United boss Jose Mourinho had previously suggested he will not play for the club in January but has reassessed that prediction. "(Paul) Pogba is not here I don't know when he will be back," he said. "Zlatan is working under our control here as I would expect. He is working so, so hard but he won't be back in the next week or the next couple of weeks. "He nee...

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...

Plauseorminus

Search This Blog