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Chelsea injury news: Kovacic and Tomori latest as Lampard gives updates for Watford clash
Express Sport bring you all the latest updates about Chelsea's injured players.
Chelsea: Defeat to West Ham was ‘not a surprise’ says Lampard
Chelsea are looking to get back to winning ways when they host Watford at Stamford Bridge this evening. The Blues missed out on the chance to move up to third in the Premier League after defeat against West Ham on Wednesday and Frank Lampard will be looking for an instant response here.
Chelsea were on a six-match unbeaten run in all competitions before the 3-2 loss to the Hammers at the London Stadium, so the Blues will be hoping to regain that momentum against Watford.
Christian Pulisic and Andreas Christensen were injury doubts heading into the midweek clash but both completed 90 minutes, providing a huge boost for the west London club.
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There was more good news as Callum Hudson-Odoi returned to the matchday squad following a muscle problem in training, although the winger remained an unused substitute.
However, Chelsea do still have a couple of fitness concerns to worry about as they continue their pursuit of a top-four finish and Champions League qualification.
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Mateo Kovacic
Kovacic was substituted early during the second half of the defeat to West Ham after picking up a knock.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Lampard revealed the Croatian will miss the visit of Watford and is also a doubt for the meeting with Crystal Palace next week.
"Kovacic is going to be out of this game," said the Chelsea boss.
"He hurt his Achilles in the West Ham game and we'll miss him in this one and probably the next one, but hopefully he won't be too long after that."
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Fikayo Tomori
Tomori is closing in on a return to action after suffering a muscle injury in training ahead of the Premier League restart.
The 22-year-old centre-back was back in training this week but remains unavailable for this weekend's fixture.
"Fikayo is still not fit. He's hopefully going to be training with us next week," said Lampard.
"He's doing a lot of work, it's just in terms of the last bit, getting him on the training pitch, it's been tough."
Marco van Ginkel
Van Ginkel has been sidelined for nearly two years with a serious knee injury but recently signed a 12-month contract extension at Stamford Bridge.
The Dutchman is steadily working his way back to full fitness and has been stepping up his recovery during the coronavirus lockdown.
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