Lampard hoping to welcome injured Chelsea star back into the line-up against Rennes

Frank Lampard has indicated that Kai Havertz may feature in UCL clash against Rennes

Speaking in an interview with the club, Frank Lampard has indicated that he is hopeful Kai Havertz features against Rennes in the UEFA Champions League group stage fixture this week.

The German attacking midfielder tested positive for Covid-19 a few days after Chelsea’s 3-0 win against Burnley on Halloween. As a consequence, Havertz missed the reverse fixture against Rennes, international duty with Germany, as well as league fixtures against Sheffield United and Newcastle United. (h/t Chelsea FC)

The 21-year-old midfielder returned to the Cobham last week and undertook training programs to return to match fitness. Now Lampard hopes he can return to action on Tuesday.

“I hope he is available. He’s been in for a few days now doing some individual work and he’s looked pretty good. Kai is a naturally fit boy so I hope to have him traveling with us to Rennes and maybe he’ll get some minutes. I’m not sure exactly how many because it was a two-week isolation but he looks in good shape.”

Lampard further added that he will monitor the fitness of the squad before deciding to reintroduce sidelined players into the line-up.

“I’ll make a decision whether to make changes or not depending on how the recovery looks. We have people like Ben Chilwell, who has had a back problem, and players who played a lot of international minutes so we’ll have to see how they are I have faith in the squad but when I pick the team, I’ll try to pick the strongest team possible with a view to where the freshness and legs are in the group.”

Kai Havertz has had a great start to his Chelsea career, scoring 4 goals and assisting thrice in his 10 appearances so far. The earlier Havertz returns, the better it will be for Chelsea, who would now have one eye on the league title after the win against Newcastle on the weekend put them just 2 points behind league leaders Spurs.

Chelsea sit on top of Group E of the UEFA Champions League with 7 points. The Blues have not lost a game in Europe this season, while Rennes are rooted to the bottom of the table with just one point.

Lampard’s men came out on top earlier this month against the same opposition when they beat the French side 3-0 at Stamford Bridge courtesy of a Timo Werner brace.

Chelsea host rivals and league leaders Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in the Premier League. Any decision to pick the squad for the game against Rennes must be done with the upcoming league fixtures in mind.