Chelsea boss, Frank Lampard has revealed about devising a special training program for their American star, Christian Pulisic after the club admitted concern about his fitness record history.
The 22-year-old winger has not featured in a single game yet and will also miss Chelsea’s Premier League match against West Brom. He picked up a hamstring injury during the FA Cup Final match against Arsenal where Chelsea lost. Since then, Pulisic is still in rehabilitation.
His £58 million move to Stamford Bridge from the Bundesliga club, Borussia Dortmund saw him giving fantastic performances and becoming the youngest player of Chelsea to score a hattrick in the Premier League. To top that, he achieved that by playing just 27 matches for the Blues.
Lampard knows that the team needs a player like Pulisic who performs in crucial matches and never fails to deliver when the team needs the most.
The club is concerned and thus has decided to protect the player at all costs. The coach talked about finding the right balance for the youngster to get the best out of him.
“Of course, when you look at a player with his recent record, you are trying to find the right way, the right balance of getting the best out of him which we saw in big periods last year.
Also, to make sure you don’t overcook him and leave him susceptible to injury, particularly a player of his explosive pace and balance. That’s a fine line,” said Lampard.
The Blues coach was confident about the prospect of a quick return to Pulisic’s Premier League action, although he will miss the game against West Brom in the Premier League.
“We are working on that and Christian is also very open to that. He wants to play, he is so hungry to play and he is very nearly fit now but it is certainly something we will have to manage with him this season because we have all seen the talent and it is something we want to get right.”
“I am not saying it is a fundamental chronic issue, it’s not. But we want to get as many minutes of the really great Christian we saw lots of last season on the pitch,” added Lampard.
It was also said that Hakim Ziyech is also unavailable for the upcoming away game but both the American and the Moroccan are training with the squad. It is expected that both the stars will be available by the next week to feature in their first game of the season.
