Mueez Ajao
– Chelsea interim boss Frank Lampard says Reece James will miss the rest of the season and Mason Mount is “unlikely” to feature in the final seven games.
– James has been ruled out after a scan on a hamstring problem, while Mount has a pelvic injury.
– “Reece James will be unavailable for the rest of the season, Mason Mount the same,” said Lampard.
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– Chelsea are in advanced talks with former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino to take charge.
– “Reece had a hamstring injury in the midweek game,” added Lampard. “He got through it but then had a scan and he’s out.
– “Mason has been carrying a pelvic injury for a while. It predates myself and he has been trying typically but he will have minor surgery, then a four-week recovery.
– “He [Mount] might make the last match but that’s unlikely, which is obviously disappointing for us.”
– Lampard, brought in earlier this month to replace Graham Potter until the end of the season, has lost all four games of his second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.
– The Blues are 11th in the Premier League table and their season is effectively over after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals last week.
– Argentine Pochettino could take over before the end of the campaign, but former midfielder Lampard, who is Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer, said the club has “big difficulties”.
– Asked whether he expects to be in charge for the remaining games, Lampard added: “I wouldn’t expect anything in football, but we have come in to a club with big difficulties, with not a lot of time.
– “[There are] a lot of factors as to the four games I have been here. The team and club have been struggling for a while. We are here to help but things won’t change in a short time.”
