https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/11/06/
lampard-press-conference-ahead-of-chelsea-vs-sheffield-united
Lampard rules two out of Sheffield United match
06 Nov 2020
Christian Pulisic will not return to the squad for Saturday's game against
Sheffield United.
https://i.imgur.com/Oju4x4C.jpg
That was the big news to come out of Frank Lampard's media conference held
via video link from Cobham on Friday afternoon. The boss also updated on
Kepa Arrizabalaga who has been missing with a shoulder problem and on Kai
Havertz, who is isolating due to Covid-19, but the first update was on the
American. Pulisic pulled out of the warm-up last weekend at Burnley due to
hamstring discomfort.
'He is not fit to play,' reported Lampard. 'He is still suffering with his
hamstring and he is not training. In midweek he was training at a low
level but was not comfortable so we have to keep looking for the right
solution.
https://i.imgur.com/mjhsXOl.jpg
'Kepa has recovered. He still is getting a slight bit of pain but he is in
the squad for tomorrow.'
Lampard was questioned on whether Havertz might be passed clear to play in
Germany's games in the forthcoming international break.
'I don't know that,' he responded. 'With Kai, we must wait until he is
symptom-free first of all and then he will have to have a negative test,
so at the moment that is not decided, that is not clear.'
The player who replaced Pulisic in the team at short notice at Turf Moor
was Timo Werner, who went on to score and then add another two midweek in
the Champions League. Lampard commented on the striker's workload.
'It was clear with the Burnley game that I was planning on giving him a
rest, more because I had options and because of the journey to Russia and
back.
'Timo has had a lot of games but at the minute there is always a balance
in my job with players who are playing well and enjoying it and finding
their way in the team and making relationships, and feeling the league if
they are new to it. That has been a big deal for Timo as well so I have to
be happy with that.
https://i.imgur.com/GfkRY3L.jpg
Werner finds the Burnley net
'I am not talking about tomorrow necessarily, I am not going to give the
team away, but as we look forward I will try to manage those minutes to
keep him as fresh as I can but at the moment he is going well so we will
see.'
Werner's recent success at hitting the target has come with him playing on
the left of a front three in a 4-3-3 formation. Lampard points out that it
is a shape that was played a lot last season, but he did not use it in
early games this campaign.
'We had the change in personnel in the summer, and with some the players
there is a versatility,' he explained. 'Things that we would normally work
out in pre-season we had to work out in real time so we had a slight
change in formation earlier and with the 4-3-3 it has worked well recently.
'It does give a good balance to our team and there is a balance to our
system always where you want to pick the right one and then the players
sometimes have to adjust in that as well. So you need intelligent players
to take that information on board, we have that, so we just need to keep
working on it and also be ready to be flexible if we need to be at times.'