Frank Lampard has admitted that Tammy Abraham will still play with “some pain” but has been given every opportunity to prove his fitness for Chelsea.
The striker returned to the Blues’ line-up this evening as they look to get back to winning ways against Aston Villa, following the weekend’s shock defeat to West Ham.
Lampard made five changes in total, with Abraham returning to the Chelsea line-up alongside Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, N'Golo Kante and Willian.
And Abraham, who missed the 1-0 defeat to West Ham after picking up a thigh injury on Champions League duty against Valencia, made an early impact, scoring a header after 24 minutes to give the Blues the lead.
However, Lampard admitted that he is not completely pain free, despite starting him against Villa.
“Tammy took a bad knock against Valencia last week, so we worked hard on him,” Lampard told Amazon Prime Video.
“We gave him every minute to try and get fit for the game, so he’s fine, albeit still with some pain.”
Chelsea will be eager to bounce back against Villa following their surprise defeat at the weekend.
The Blues go into the game fourth in the Premier League, having lost ground Liverpool, Leicester and Manchester City.
"We've made a few changes to keep the squad fresh. We lost here on Saturday so need a reaction."
