Chelsea team news: Frank Lampard facing major headache for what was already a tough ask at Bayern Munich

Pulisic sustained a hamstring injury in the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal
AP

Frank Lampard faces a major selection headache ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League clash against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

His side went into Saturday’s FA Cup Final with Arsenal already hit by injuries and their problems were only made worse at Wembley.

Cesar Azpilicueta and Christian Pulisic both limped off with hamstring injuries, while Pedro was carried off after a suffering a suspected dislocated shoulder.

Chelsea were this morning assessing the trio, but not one of them is expected to be fit to face Bayern for the second leg of the last-16 tie.

Their absence only adds to Lampard’s problems ahead of the match in Munich, with Chelsea trailing 3-0 from the first leg.

Jorginho and Marcos Alonso are suspended, while Billy Gilmour is a long-term absentee with a knee injury.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Willian missed out on the squad for the FA Cup Final, while N’Golo Kante was on the bench but did not come on as he gets back to full fitness following a hamstring issue.

All of which mean Chelsea risk being stretched for Saturday’s game and Lampard is concerned, too, about the knock-on effects for next season.

The Premier League is due to return on September 12 but clubs competing in this month’s mini-tournaments for the Champions League and Europa League are expected to be handed a later start.

Chelsea may not fall into that category if they do not beat Bayern but Lampard has urged the Premier League to consider delaying the Blues’ start to the new campaign.

“Even in a worst-case scenario and we don’t go through against Bayern, the 12th feels too early for me and the players to start again,” he said.

“The players need a break. That is why we have pulled two hamstrings and had players pull out of the game before this.

“I would like to think the Premier League would look seriously at that and, hopefully, give us a fair start next season. We deserve it as a Premier League club in the Champions League.”

Chelsea must dust themselves down quickly for Saturday’s game after what was a painful FA Cup Final defeat by Arsenal.

The Blues looked bright early on and duly took the lead through Pulisic, who has been one of the form players since football returned.

Chelsea 2020 summer transfer window

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Chelsea failed, however, to kick on and Arsenal fought back to claim a record 14th FA Cup.

“We got complacent,” said Lampard. “We took too long on the ball, we started playing short passes like it was a stroll.

“An FA Cup Final can never be a stroll. We allowed Arsenal back in the game and from that point onwards, it’s always going to be difficult.”

Chelsea’s cause was not helped by the sending-off of Mateo Kovacic, who was given a second yellow card 17 minutes from the end after making minimal contact with Granit Xhaka.

Azpilicueta, however, has told his team-mates they cannot use refereeing decisions as an excuse for their loss and they must instead learn from the defeat.

“It’s tough but we have the next challenges that we have to be ready for,” he said.

“We have to learn from the game, even if you always want to learn when you win and when you lift trophies, rather than by losing these kind of games. We dropped our level a little bit and we were punished.”

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