Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard could be back playing 'within a few weeks' after scans revealed he had torn his right thigh muscle, the club has announced.
Lampard picked up the injury during the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day.
Chelsea’s horrendous injury problems have worsened after a scan confirmed that Frank Lampard has torn a muscle in his right thigh. The England midfield player stayed behind at the club’s training ground to begin his rehabilitation well into yesterday evening, but he is likely to be out for at least a month.
Lampard’s second thigh injury of the season will almost certainly keep him out of Fabio Capello’s first match in charge of England, against Switzerland at Wembley on February 6, a bitter personal blow given that he could be competing for a single central midfield place with Steven Gerrard, although Chelsea will be more concerned about how it affects their faltering championship challenge. Avram Grant, the first-team coach, will be without nine key players for tomorrow’s visit of Newcastle United to Stamford Bridge, with John Terry, Didier Drogba, Claude Makelele, Florent Malouda and Carlo Cudicini on the long-term injury list and Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho and Ashley Cole serving suspensions.
Lampard’s absence will be felt more keenly than most, however, as he is their joint top goalscorer with Drogba and most likely match-winner given that the Ivory Coast striker is also out after knee surgery. The importance of Lampard, 29, was demonstrated when he was out for six weeks with a thigh strain in the autumn, during which time Chelsea failed to win any of their four Barclays Premier League matches, managing to beat only Hull City and Valencia.
Lampard underwent a scan today which revealed the extent of the injury.
A statement released by Chelsea read: 'Scans today have revealed a tear in Frank Lampard's right thigh.
'The tear is not in the same leg that Frank injured earlier this season.
'He will begin his rehabilitation immediately and we hope to have him back playing within a few weeks.'
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