Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has confirmed that Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva are unavailable for the Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday.
Ziyech sustained a knee injury during the second half of the friendly game against Brighton earlier last month and Lampard has revealed that the Moroccan will be out for a couple of weeks.
“Hakim Ziyech took an injury to a knee against Brighton so won’t be fit. Hopefully it’s a matter of weeks, a couple of weeks but we have to see,” He told via Chelsea’s official website.
Meanwhile, Chilwell has yet to achieve match fitness after recovering from a heel injury sustained at Leicester City and Lampard has ruled out his availability for the south-coast trip.
“Ben Chilwell is working towards fitness and improved this week. He’s going in the right direction but won’t be ready for Brighton,” Lampard added when asked about Chilwell’s fitness.
However, another summer signing in Silva will also miss the season’s curtain-raiser, given he has yet to be involved in first-team training after his Champions League final outing for Paris Saint-Germain on August 23.