Friday 29 November 2019 15:36, UK
Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham is in "pain" and will miss Saturday's Premier League fixture with West Ham after suffering a hip injury against Valencia, head coach Frank Lampard has said.
Abraham fell awkwardly while competing for a corner in the 2-2 Champions League draw with Valencia on Wednesday, and was eventually stretchered down the tunnel.
Asked if the 22-year-old could return for West Ham's visit to Stamford Bridge, Lampard replied: "He's got some pain so won't be involved tomorrow and we'll see by Monday."
However, Lampard is confident he can trust his other strikers, Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshayi, to step up and replace Abraham.
He said: "It's a squad game over the course of the season. The lads have been training well no matter how many minutes they're getting.
"Every day is a work day so when opportunities come they're ready, so I've got all confidence in them."
Batshuayi has been Lampard's preferred choice off the bench recently, with five goals in all competitions this season, and insists he is impressed by the Belgian who has previously struggled for minutes at Chelsea.
When asked about Batshayi, Lampard responded: "[He brings] a work ethic, a quality. It's not easy when you're not playing as many minutes as you want.
"Every one of my players wants to play every minute of every game and obviously with Tammy's form, that's meant that he's played a lot of the minutes. But that can change now Tammy has his injury.
"I've seen a great work ethic and persistence in how [Batshuayi] works and consistency in his quality, which we've seen off the bench as well at times. That's been great to see because we need competition in that place."
Lampard will face former club West Ham, where he came through the youth academy before signing for Chelsea in 2001, for the first time as a manager on Saturday.
The Hammers are on a poor run of results with just two points from their last seven Premier League games, but Lampard knows London derbies do not always go according to form.
He said: "West Ham have good individuals, a good team, a good manager and we have to be very aware of their threat, no matter what their recent form is.
"A London derby kind of takes form out the window - I've played in games like this where teams turn up in not great form but are slightly transformed by the nature of the game, so we have to be very aware.
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has come under criticism in recent weeks and there has been much speculation he will lose his job.
"He's a good manager, I worked under him," said Lampard, who was managed by the Chilean at Manchester City. "He's a good man, a good manager. I've got huge respect for him and he'll be working to turn it around for them."
"We all know ruthless nature of the game now. Every team, every group of fans, every owner, everybody wants their team to be successful at all times.
"Individually, I understood the ruthless nature of the game as a player, I understood it when I thought about being a manager and I probably understand it even more now I am."
