Chelsea F.C. will miss the services of at least three players when they face Bayern Munich in the Champions League decider set to take place this weekend. Among the notable names who will not be available are Christian Pulisic and Pedro Rodriguez Ledesma.
Pulisic injured his hamstring in their FA Cup match with Arsenal. He opened up the scoring but ended up hobbling out. Initially, the 21-year-old seemed determined to play in the Champions League match. Unfortunately, it turns out that the injury was worse than first anticipated.
Pulisic will be forced to watch in the sidelines when the Blues collide with Der FCB. The earliest time he can return to the field is by the 2020-21 season slated to begin on Sept. 12.
The American is not the only one set to miss the match. Also out is Pedro who underwent surgery for his shoulder. This caps his five-year stint at Stamford Bridge as he is set to join Roma next season. Pedro gave an update on his surgery via his Instagram account.
“The surgery went well, I will be back soon,” Pedro said on social media. “It was a pity not to win the FA Cup. Thank you for all your support.”
A third player out due to an injury is Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spaniard also went down with a hamstring injury in the FA Cup final and had to be helped out of the match.
Other than injuries, Frank Lampard will also be missing some players due to suspension. Jorginho and Marco Alonso will not be suiting up due to a yellow and red card they incurred during the first leg.
With a depleted pool, Lampard is left to figure out how to come up with a good showing against Der FCB. A possible option for the Blues coach is to tap some players from their academy. Lewis Bate has been mentioned as a possible call-up, someone who has been training regularly with the first team. The 17-year-old has been named to the squad on several occasions.
Aside from Bate, other names that could be tapped include Armando Broja, Henry Lawrence, Tino Anjorin, Lewis Bate, Tino Livramento, Dynel Simeu and Ian Maatsen. it is a tricky situation for Lampard but something he needs to resolve in the coming days.
The latest update on Chelsea is that they have added five new names for their Champions League match per @chelseayouth. They were Ian Maatsen, Dynel Simeu, Henry Lawrence, Lewis Bate and Armando Broja. Aside from that, N'Golo Kante has also been included. He was deemed unfit against Arsenal but appears to be ready to go against Bayern.
