Chelsea FC manager Frank Lampard has confirmed that the Blues have received a timely injury boost ahead of the Champions League clash against Lille on Tuesday night.
The Blues had a poor defensive display against Everton over the weekend and the focus was mostly on the centre-back partnership of Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma.
As a result, there have been some calls for the duo to be dropped from the starting lineup and at least one of them could face the axe with Antonio Rudiger set to make his return.
Rudiger has made just one appearance for the Blues in mid-September but Lampard has confirmed that he is in a good physical shape after recovering from a successful operation for a pelvic injury.
Speaking in a press conference on Monday, he told: “It’s good to have him back. He’s been training really well. He’s got a lot of his fitness work done, his injury has healed. You can only speak as you look at him, and he looks fit and ready to go, and I know he’s hungry. In terms of building him up, rightly so, he’s a good defender.”
Zouma attended the pre-match press conference alongside Lampard and that gives a hint that he should take up one of the central defensive roles available.
Rudiger has not tasted competitive action with the first-team for nearly three months but he should be up for the challenge with Lampard revealing that the German has been training rigorously to get himself up to peak fitness.
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