Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has admitted that his star center back Antonio Rudiger could be out of action for almost an entire month after sustaining another groin injury.
Chelsea’s injury woes continue to cause a headache for Frank Lampard as defender Antonio Rudiger is set to be out for another month following a groin surgery that he underwent on Tuesday. The 26-year-old former Schalke defender was injured last season before making a brief comeback, only to be out of action yet again. Rudiger joins a long list of Chelsea players that are currently injured or just recovering from their respective injuries.
The news of Rudiger’s injury comes as a bit of shock as he was deemed fit to play as reported by quite a few news outlets last week. Now it seems that Rudiger may well be out for a minimum of one month ruling out any chances of appearing in any Chelsea games in November. Only last week, Lampard confirmed that Rudiger is fit and ready to play when asked about the center back. The 41-year-old Chelsea boss said, “No, he’s not fit, I saw the quotes. There was a miscommunication somewhere. He’s not fit and will be seeing a consultant on Monday. It’s an ongoing issue with his pelvic area which is bothering him. I was surprised by the quotes. It’s miscommunication. He’s not there.”
Rudiger underwent surgery on his knee in the summer because of the anterior cruciate ligament tear that he suffered towards the end of the last term. He made his comeback for the West London side by playing the first 45 minutes against Wolverhampton Wanderers in September but once again stretched his groin after an unfortunate incident by slipping on a metal plate.
Rudiger was an essential part of the Chelsea squad last season that won the UEFA Europa League title and also acquired a top-four finish in the Premier League being eligible for the Champions League. Frank Lampard will not be overly concerned with Rudiger’s injury because of the encouraging partnership of young duo Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma at the heart of the Chelsea defense. The two youngsters are performing well and it won’t be a smooth return to the first team for Rudiger considering the rich vein of the form shown by the two center backs.
