Frank Lampard is reportedly set to include Chelsea academy star Lewis Bate in his squad for Saturday’s trip to Sheffield after he was dealt a double injury blow in midfield.
Chelsea will be without both N’Golo Kante and Billy Gilmour for the match at Bramall Lane, with the Scottish star ruled out for four months after undergoing a surgery on his knee.
However, Kante remains out with a hamstring injury, Mateo Kovacic has just recovered from an injury and Jorginho is yet to start a game since the campaign return.
That has seen Lampard turn to Chelsea’s thriving academy for reinforcements to the team, And Goal.com claim that youngster Bate will travel to Sheffield with the rest of the team.
The 17-year-old midfielder has been a regular player in both the Under-18 and Under-23 sides this campaign and is regarded as the most promising player at the club.
He has been with the first-team since lockdown restrictions started to ease, with Lampard earmarking him as one for the future – though the Chelsea manager will not havr expected to call on him so soon.
Speaking about his involvement in first-team, Bate told Chelsea’s official website: ‘I was sitting in my garden with my family and I got a call from the club doctor saying I needed to come in for a Covid-19 test the next day because I was joining the first-team bubble.
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‘I thought it would be just in case they needed us but within two days I had joined in training in small groups at Cobham. We began working on fitness because the first team had a week’s training on us already but then after a week we all joined in together and it’s been consistent ever since.
‘I trained with them four times during the normal season and the tempo and quality is high but training with them day-in, day-out just highlights how much quality they have – even after three months without playing! It’s been a good experience and playing with the world-class players we have will only make us better footballers.
‘Kante is a central midfielder like me and I’m learning from him – the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch is good. One day I’ll be on the same team as him in training and the next day I’ll be up against him trying to play as the opposition do, which will only help make me a better player as I have to raise my game.’
