Frank Lampard has sought to calm injury fears surrounding Tammy Abraham, with the Chelsea striker considered to be “alright” after taking another slight knock in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
The England international striker only returned to the Blues fold in that contest after overcoming a hip problem suffered in a Champions League clash with Valencia.
Abraham returned with a bang, recording his 11th Premier League goal of the season and 12th in all competitions as Chelsea got back to winning ways.
He was withdrawn seven minutes from time with a knee complaint, but Lampard claims that was merely a precautionary call intended to prevent a talented 22-year-old from suffering any further untimely setbacks.
The Blues boss told reporters when asked for an update on Abraham’s fitness: “It doesn't seem too bad in there, so I'm presuming that he's alright.”
Lampard added on an academy graduate who has quickly become a talismanic presence in the senior ranks at Stamford Bridge: “He's a personality that's growing in our dressing room every day with his enthusiasm and his will to win.
“Tammy is a striker that's near the top of the goalscoring charts in the league, he's showing his all-round game, stretches defences, and he starts our press.
“And of course if a player's on such a good run it's normal that if they go out of the team that you can miss them, and today he came straight back in as he left off.”
Getty Images
While being confident that Abraham will continue to play a prominent role for Chelsea over the coming weeks, Lampard admits to still being unsure as to when Ruben Loftus-Cheek will come back into contention.
The 23-year-old playmaker has been out of action since rupturing his Achilles during a post-season friendly clash with MLS side the New England Revolution in May.
“He's had a few setbacks over the last two months,” Lampard said of a man who has previously stated that positive progress was being made in his recovery.
“He hasn't had a new one [injury], but he's not flying along as much as we would want, and it's not for the want of trying from everybody.
“For Ruben himself of course there's nothing worse than being injured. But at the moment he's no closer to being fit.”