Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that Frank Lampard has recovered from a hernia operation to start against West Ham on Saturday.
The midfielder underwent surgery as recently as two weeks ago in Germany and the midfield star is expected to be ready for the trip to Upton Park.
The Blues currently top the Premier League table after three wins in a row, with 14 goals scored.
The Italian revealed to the Daily Star on Sunday: “For sure, Frank will be fit for the West Ham game.”
However, Ancelotti denied that Lampard deliberately put club before country after the 32-year-old pulled out of the national squad for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.
“No, we didn’t decide at the start of the season to do this now.
“After the Stoke game, Frank was in a lot of pain.
“So he decided, after talking to the club doctor, to resolve and remove the problem immediately.” (Sky Sports)
So here are the facts. Frank Lampard was in a lot of pain after the Stoke City game, not in enough pain to prevent him from playing the lion’s share of the game. It was decided that it was however the ‘right time’ to have a ‘much needed’ operation at the exact same time as the international break. Now fully recovered the Stamford Bridge man will be fit to play for his club against West Ham on the weekend.
Lampard, after conversations with the club doctor, decided that now was the time to resolve the problem immediately. Is this a coincidence? A sequence of events that is just a case of bad timing? Remember we are not talking about a pointless friendly, we are talking about two crucial Euro 2012 qualifiers. Then we have John Terry.
John Terry has revealed the hamstring injury that will see him miss the start of England’s European Championship qualifying campaign dates all the way back to the World Cup.
Chelsea captain Terry will sit out Friday’s Wembley opener against Bulgaria as well as the trip to Switzerland four days later after being ordered to rest for the next 10 days.
The defender told Chelsea TV: “I have had a bit of a problem since the World Cup and I was hoping after the World Cup that I would have two weeks off and it would completely go away. But that wasn’t the case and, coming back working hard, it came back on.”
Terry has played every game for club and country this season but claims the injury was behind his half-time substitution in England’s recent friendly win over Hungary.
“I played the last England game but I had to come off at half-time because of it,” he said.
“I have not made it public but I have been struggling with it and maybe I just need 10 days’ rest to fully get over it because it could impact on my season.” (The Press Association)
OK, so the Chelsea captain has been playing in pain throughout the season and has managed to play every minute of the season thus far but for some reason the pain became too great exactly when his country needed him. He will more than likely also be fit and raring to go for the trip to Upton Park. Is this also a massive coincidence?
Fabio Capello needs to nip this in the bud. Now I have no problem with players ‘crying-off’ for meaningless friendlies but to do so for a pair of competitive matches if just incredible. The Italian will know exactly what is going on here and will hopefully act accordingly. Given the limp and lifeless displays England put in during the World Cup in the summer it seems even more imperative that players at least ‘appear’ to give a damn about playing for their country.
Remember that Michael Dawson has now been genuinely injured during the Bulgaria encounter which leaves Capello very short on defensive options for a potentially tricky trip to Switzerland.
Should the Chelsea pair be dropped from international duty as a result or are these events just completely coincidental?
The midfielder underwent surgery as recently as two weeks ago in Germany and the midfield star is expected to be ready for the trip to Upton Park.
The Blues currently top the Premier League table after three wins in a row, with 14 goals scored.
The Italian revealed to the Daily Star on Sunday: “For sure, Frank will be fit for the West Ham game.”
However, Ancelotti denied that Lampard deliberately put club before country after the 32-year-old pulled out of the national squad for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.
“No, we didn’t decide at the start of the season to do this now.
“After the Stoke game, Frank was in a lot of pain.
“So he decided, after talking to the club doctor, to resolve and remove the problem immediately.” (Sky Sports)
So here are the facts. Frank Lampard was in a lot of pain after the Stoke City game, not in enough pain to prevent him from playing the lion’s share of the game. It was decided that it was however the ‘right time’ to have a ‘much needed’ operation at the exact same time as the international break. Now fully recovered the Stamford Bridge man will be fit to play for his club against West Ham on the weekend.
Lampard, after conversations with the club doctor, decided that now was the time to resolve the problem immediately. Is this a coincidence? A sequence of events that is just a case of bad timing? Remember we are not talking about a pointless friendly, we are talking about two crucial Euro 2012 qualifiers. Then we have John Terry.
John Terry has revealed the hamstring injury that will see him miss the start of England’s European Championship qualifying campaign dates all the way back to the World Cup.
Chelsea captain Terry will sit out Friday’s Wembley opener against Bulgaria as well as the trip to Switzerland four days later after being ordered to rest for the next 10 days.
The defender told Chelsea TV: “I have had a bit of a problem since the World Cup and I was hoping after the World Cup that I would have two weeks off and it would completely go away. But that wasn’t the case and, coming back working hard, it came back on.”
Terry has played every game for club and country this season but claims the injury was behind his half-time substitution in England’s recent friendly win over Hungary.
“I played the last England game but I had to come off at half-time because of it,” he said.
“I have not made it public but I have been struggling with it and maybe I just need 10 days’ rest to fully get over it because it could impact on my season.” (The Press Association)
OK, so the Chelsea captain has been playing in pain throughout the season and has managed to play every minute of the season thus far but for some reason the pain became too great exactly when his country needed him. He will more than likely also be fit and raring to go for the trip to Upton Park. Is this also a massive coincidence?
Fabio Capello needs to nip this in the bud. Now I have no problem with players ‘crying-off’ for meaningless friendlies but to do so for a pair of competitive matches if just incredible. The Italian will know exactly what is going on here and will hopefully act accordingly. Given the limp and lifeless displays England put in during the World Cup in the summer it seems even more imperative that players at least ‘appear’ to give a damn about playing for their country.
Remember that Michael Dawson has now been genuinely injured during the Bulgaria encounter which leaves Capello very short on defensive options for a potentially tricky trip to Switzerland.
Should the Chelsea pair be dropped from international duty as a result or are these events just completely coincidental?
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