Timo Werner was prevented from taking a penalty during Chelsea's Carabao Cup shootout defeat by Tottenham due to cramp, Frank Lampard has confirmed.
The Blues looked to be heading through to the quarter-finals after Werner's first goal for the club in Tuesday night's fourth-round tie at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, only for Erik Lamela to equalise late on and force penalties.
Tammy Abraham, Cesar Azpilicueta, Emerson Palmieri and Jorginho all netted for Chelsea to keep pace with Tottenham during a high-quality shootout, but a derby defeat was confirmed when Mason Mount's effort clipped the post and flew wide.
Many might have expected Werner to step up from 12 yards, particularly given that he boasted a strong record from the spot during his time at RB Leipzig.
However, Lampard revealed after the loss that his £53million striker was suffering from cramp and would likely otherwise have taken on the responsibility.
Asked if the plan was always to have Mount take the fifth penalty, the Chelsea boss told Sky Sports: "We spoke to the players. You work on penalties but it's very difficult to know.
"Timo had some cramp towards the end of the game. Timo probably would have taken one so we had to adjust around that."
