London: Chelsea vice-captain Frank Lampard will miss the crucial Premier League fixture against Manchester United on Sunday due to the recurrence of calf injury which forced the midfielder to limp out of the club’s 1-2 Champions League defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday. The 34-year-old lasted only 15 minutes of the game.
"It's basically a recurrence of an old injury,” said Chelsea manger Roberto Di Matteo. "He was training with us fine and there were no alarm bells before the game. He was in good condition to play."
He added: "It's a team that has always shown the character after a defeat and I don't think the previous years should affect the way we are playing this season or where we are this year. We are doing everything we can to prevent that as well. The team is in good physical condition and also we have a good squad, so we'll try to utilise everybody that we can."
Lampard will be out for at least a fortnight after a recurrence of the calf strain which had also ruled the England international out of the San Marino and Poland games earlier in the month. With John Terry serving a four-match domestic ban, Lampard’s non-availability is a big blow for the table-toppers. Chelsea are leading the points table with 22 points after 8 games whereas United are close behind with 18 points.
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