Here we go! It’s Christian Pulisic time! Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has confirmed that the 22-year-0ld left sided attacking player is match fit now. He’s fully recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered in the FA Cup Final loss to Arsenal on August 1.
He’s in line to feature versus Crystal Palace tomorrow, but Lampard said he won’t start. The Blues boss also said that Hakim Ziyech is “getting closer” to making his Chelsea debut, as the former Ajax man has recovered from a knee problem.
Chelsea FC vs Crystal Palace FYIs
Kickoff: Sat Oct 3, 123o pm BST, 7:30 am EST, Stamford Bridge, London
TV: BT Sport (UK) Peacock (USA)
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
Chelsea Team News: go here
Match Official: Michael Oliver
Odds via bet365: Chelsea win 2/5, Draw 4/1, Crystal Palace win 6/1
“Pulisic is in the squad for tomorrow,” Lampard said.
“He won’t start the match because of the injury he has had. It has been a difficult injury. I’m very keen to get him back in there so it is great to have him back, for himself and for the boost he can give the team. He is an important player for us.”
“I think they will all bring out the best in each other,” Lampard said.
“Of course, it is a huge miss for us not to have Christian and Hakim fit at this stage of the season. We are all excited to [see them] start.”
Originally, it was thought that Pulisic would miss the first week or two of the season, due to the issue, but then, as the season opener approached, he looked to be healing faster than expected.
He then suffered another setback during training, and here we are, week four already.
“Christian has been here for a year so he doesn’t have that bedding in process that was part of last year.
“Hakim is going to bring something completely different for us and I think they will help compliment, not just Kai and Timo, but the attacking players that we have because again we will need to be able to use different players throughout the course of a season.”
“I’m very excited to have those players fit.”
“Timo and Kai don’t have necessarily favourite positions but I have a clear idea of where I want them to play. At the moment, injuries have not made that possible and you have to be adaptable in those difficult times.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.