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Frank Lampard: 'Ruben Loftus-Cheek no closer to being fit'

Frank Lampard: 'Ruben Loftus-Cheek no closer to being fit'
© Reuters
The England midfielder has been sidelined since May.

Chelsea still have no time frame for Ruben Loftus-Cheek's return from his long-term heel injury.

The 23-year-old has not played since suffering the injury in a post-season friendly in Boston in May and Blues boss Frank Lampard conceded he still does not know when the England midfielder will be back in action.

"He's had a few setbacks over the last two months," said Lampard.

Frank Lampard is unsure when his midfielder will be fit again
Frank Lampard is unsure when his midfielder will be fit again (John Walton/PA)

"He hasn't had a new one, but he's not flying along as much as we would want, and it's not for the want of trying from everybody.

"For Ruben himself of course there's nothing worse than being injured. But at the moment he's no closer to being fit."

One player who is fit again is England striker Tammy Abraham, who headed his 11th Premier League goal of the season then laid on Mason Mount's winner as Chelsea saw off Aston Villa 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Abraham hit 26 goals in 40 matches on loan at Villa last term, and even had the travelling fans singing his name at the final whistle in west London.

The 22-year-old – who sat out the defeat to West Ham at the weekend with injury – boasts a direct hand in a goal in all his 14 league games this term, with his manager suitably impressed.

"He's a personality that's growing in our dressing room every day with his enthusiasm and his will to win," said Lampard.

"Tammy is a striker that's near the top of the goalscoring charts in the league, he's showing his all-round game, stretches defences, and he starts our press.

"And of course if a player's on such a good run it's normal that if they go out of the team that you can miss them, and today he came straight back in as he left off."

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith warned that club captain Jack Grealish will suffer a serious injury unless the standard of Premier League refereeing improves.

Jack Grealish has been a closely-marked man in the Premier League
Jack Grealish has been a closely-marked man in the Premier League (Adam Davy/PA)

Asked if he fears Grealish, the league's most fouled player, suffering a significant injury, Smith replied: "If he doesn't get protection, then yeah, you worry for him.

"You can't have tag teams having a free whack at him all the time. The referees and the officials have to sort that out.

"The refereeing in the Premier League so far has disappointed me.

"I had expected to see a lot better. There's been a tag team fouling Jack Grealish at times."

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Chelsea's Tammy Abraham pictured on December 4, 2019
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15141037142343
2Leicester CityLeicester1511223592635
3Manchester CityMan City15102343172632
4Chelsea159243021929
5Wolverhampton WanderersWolves155822117423
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd155642318521
7Crystal Palace156361418-421
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs155552523220
9Arsenal154832122-120
10Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd154741715219
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155461522-719
12Burnley155372124-318
13Bournemouth154471821-316
14Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton154471722-516
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham154471725-816
16Aston Villa154382224-215
17Southampton154381733-1615
18Everton154291627-1114
19Norwich CityNorwich1532101632-1611
20Watford15159930-218

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