Antonio Conte has just one player missing from his squad as Chelsea get set to host Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea will play hosts to Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, aiming to build up a winning momentum after their 3-1 win over Huddersfield Town on Tuesday. Ahead of the visit of the Saints, Antonio Conte looked delighted about the injury woes easing up in his squad.
The Chelsea boss has just David Luiz unavailable now, with the Brazilian defender still on the treatment table due to a knee injury. Providing an update on his problem, Conte remarked that there’s still little clarity as to when he will be able to make a comeback.
“We are trying to sort the situation with the doctor. It’s important to assess the situation day by day and to try to solve the problem. I don’t know when he will be able to come back with us but, for sure, with the doctor and medical department we are trying to sort the situation.”
Antonio Conte “doesn’t know” when David Luiz will return, but Alvaro Morata is back in contention.
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“The player is working apart and in the last few days he was in the pool. Today I saw him on the pitch trying to run a bit, but very slowly. For sure there is a lot of frustration about the injury because every player wants the training sessions and the chance to give the coach difficulty in his choices.”
But, there was some good news for Conte & co., with Alvaro Morata returning to training after missing the midweek game due to a minor back injury. The Chelsea boss confirmed that the Spaniard is in contention to make an immediate return to the starting lineup.
“He’s better. He trained with us two days ago, again yesterday and also today. He has this pain in his back but he’s in contention for tomorrow’s game.”
Meanwhile, there could be a few rotations on Saturday, with Cesc Fabregas and Gary Cahill hoping for recalls, while Willian will be confident of keeping his place in the starting lineup after a match winning performance on Tuesday.
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino, on the other hand, has absolutely no major injury concerns hampering his preparation for Saturday’s tie. Ryan Bertrand and Oriol Romeu will be the men under the spotlight for the visitors, with the duo likely to be buoyed, when up against their former side.
