Chelsea have been dealt a fresh blow with the fitness of Mason Mount, who was absent from Saturday's loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers after a previous injury flared up.
The England playmaker's influence has waned during the 2022-23 campaign, and he spent four games out with a pelvic problem prior to the international break.
Mount was nevertheless called up to the Three Lions' squad, but he ultimately pulled out after then-Chelsea boss Graham Potter insisted that he would not be fit to turn out for his country.
Since exiting the treatment room, Mount has been an unused substitute against Aston Villa and Liverpool, and Frank Lampard's return to the dugout was expected to lead to a turnaround in fortunes for the midfielder.
The 24-year-old was a favourite of Lampard's during the latter's first spell in the Blues dugout, having also plied his trade under the Chelsea legend at Derby County in 2018-19.
© Reuters
However, The Athletic reports that Mount had trained as normal during the week up until Friday, when he suffered a recurrence of his injury to the abdominal area.
As a result, the England international was nowhere to be seen at Molineux, and his participation in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg with Real Madrid is also clouded in uncertainty.
Mount had found starts hard to come by during Potter's doomed spell anyway, having scored just three goals and set up six more in 32 appearances during the 2022-23 campaign.
Nevertheless, the Englishman was hailed as a "huge player" for Chelsea by Lampard earlier this week, with his total for the club standing at 33 goals and 37 assists from 192 games.
Mount's contract situation continues to rumble on in the background, though, as the former Vitesse and Derby loanee could still depart as a free agent in the summer of 2024.
© Reuters
Talks between Chelsea and Mount over a new contract are believed to have stalled over pay, with the midfielder hoping to become one of the Blues' highest-paid players, while the club are not willing to sanction such a wage increase.
Liverpool are being strongly linked with a move for Mount, but the 24-year-old would supposedly still prefer to remain at Chelsea, where he has plied his trade since 2005.
With Mount absent, Lampard's Chelsea homecoming ended in a miserable 1-0 defeat at Wolves courtesy of a Matheus Nunes rocket in the first half.
The Blues remain 11th in the table with their loss in the West Midlands, seven points off the top seven and 17 adrift of the Champions League places with eight games left to play.
Armando Broja, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta represent three more Chelsea injury issues ahead of their imminent showdown with European champions Real Madrid.
Ben Knapton
