Lampard set to return for Chelsea date with United
CHELSEA have received a major boost ahead of their crunch Premier League clash with Manchester United after Frank Lampard came through a practice match unscathed.
Lampard completed the 60-minute game behind closed doors at the Blues’ Cobham training ground yesterday in what was an urgent bid to boost his fitness ahead of the match with the table-toppers at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The England midfielder, who is set to start Sunday’s clash providing he has no reaction to the training game, made his first top flight appearance since August on Sunday when he played the final 12 minutes against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Lampard has been struggling to return from a nagging hernia problem after having undergone surgery earlier in the season.
The 32-year-old’s return is a huge fillip to a club desperately seeking to turn around their dire slump in form. Chelsea are currently enduring their worst run in the league for over a decade after having failed to win any of their last five games.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have slipped from first to fourth and now sit three points behind Sir Alex Ferguson’s United having played a game more.