Reece James to miss Chelsea's clash with Man City
Jan 01, 2021
London [UK], January 1 : Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has provided the latest fitness update about the squad ahead of the weekend meeting with Manchester City, ruling defender Reece James out of the upcoming game.
The defender has a minor muscle injury that will keep him sidelined for the visit to Stamford Bridge of Pep Guardiola's side, though there was better news on the comeback of midfielder Hakim Ziyech.
"Reece James is out, he has got a small hamstring problem," the Blues official website quoted Lampard as saying.
On Ziyech, the boss added: "He is fit to train and has trained the last two or three days so I will have to make the decision on whether he's ready to start."
Despite City's most recent game being postponed due to COVID-19 cases within the squad, Lampard expects the first action of 2021 to be played as planned on Sunday afternoon.
"I have not been given the chances of the game being postponed but I am aware of the situation and at the moment the game is on. We know that Manchester City had some positives within their training ground. We have had a couple ourselves but not on the playing staff and that's the current situation," he said.