By Chris Wright
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that he expects Frank Lampard to make his long-overdue return to the first-team against Liverpool this weekend.
Lampard has missed Chelsea’s last 11 games after undergoing groin surgery following a hernia problem at the tail end of August and, although Ancelotti has ruled the midfielder out of Wednesday’s Champions League tie with Spartak Moscow, a return against Liverpool the following Sunday has been tentatively pencilled in:
“Lampard started training with the team last week. I don’t think he will be ready for Wednesday but for the next game in the Premier League against Liverpool.
“I hope he will come back quickly because we need to have this kind of player – he is a fantastic player.
“Now the team without Lampard is doing very well. But when he comes back I think we will have him straight into the team. We have a lot of games, we have a game every three days and all the players will be involved.”
Lampard’s return can’t come soon enough for Chelsea, who have really struggled (the poor lambs have had to put up with winning by just the odd couple of goals, rather than five or six) since he pulled up against Stoke on August 28th.