Chelsea morning headlines as duo hand Frank Lampard boost for Newcastle but Hakim Ziyech setback

Here are the Chelsea morning headlines for Wednesday, November 18.

Injury boost for Blues

Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell was substituted in the first half of England’s 2-0 defeat in Belgium on Sunday evening.

It left Blues’ fans wondering if he would be fit for their side’s visit to Newcastle this weekend. However, the good news is that he is back in training for England ahead of their dead rubber match with Iceland at Wembley this evening.

It’s not yet clear if he will play tonight, and after the fine start Chilwell has made to life at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea supporters will be hoping he doesn’t risk injury in a meaningless match.

The former Leicester man has been speaking about the start of his Chelsea career, and you can read his comments here.

Chelsea injury list ahead of Newcastle clash

Ziyech set to miss a month of action next season

While the dates for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations have yet to be finalised, it seems likely it will be taking place in January and February, in Cameroon.

This is bad news for those Premier League clubs who have African stars in their teams, as they will be unable to call upon them for over a month if their nations have a successful tournament.

And with Morocco on the brink of qualifying, Frank Lampard looks set to be without Hakim Ziyech as the Chelsea new boy will definitely feature if his country makes it.

The full details of Morocco’s qualification path and hopes of making the finals are explained in detail here.

Conte gives Lampard verdict

Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been speaking to The Telegraph (as reported in The Express) about how current boss Frank Lampard has been performing, and his own hopes for the future.

Conte is currently in charge at Inter Milan, and while he stated he hopes to stay there for many years, he also wants to return to this country to work at some point.

“I want to come back to England to have another experience because I enjoyed my stay there a lot and to breathe the atmosphere in England,” he said.

And he gave his approval to the current Blues team too. "I think, honestly, now in this moment Chelsea is a really good team, a strong team, a large squad to face many, many competitions,” he added.