Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is set to miss this weekend’s FA Cup third round tie against Morecombe with a hamstring injury, while the game will also come too soon for Reece James to make his comeback.
The influential French midfielder has struggled to maintain his fitness over the course of Lampard’s tenure and is now set for another spell on the sidelines.
James, meanwhile, has missed the last two games and although he will miss out on Saturday, he could be in contention to feature against Fulham next Friday should the game go ahead.
Andreas Christensen, injury in the recent draw against Aston Villa, will also miss out and Lampard could look to shuffle his pack given the level of opposition Chelsea will face at Stamford Bridge and the number of matches his squad has been forced to contend with over the course of the last month.
Chelsea are in the midst of a three-game run without a victory and following last Sunday’s defeat to Manchester City, Lampard was forced to field questions about his future.
Thomas Tuchel, sacked by PSG last week, has been linked with the managerial job at Chelsea, but Lampard brushed off the speculation and admits such rumours come with the territory.
‘I came into this job expecting pressure,’ Lampard said. ‘I have to say my personality is that when things are going well, I put more pressure on myself because I worry about what is around the corner.
‘Now I find this more challenging in a good way because I can find out more about myself, the team, and my members of staff.
‘No matter form, team, status, the FA Cup has a magic that’s been there forever which means underdogs will turn up and make it difficult. With our current form, we have to be even more on guard.’
