Chelsea morning headlines as Lampard handed Hakim Ziyech blow with star set to miss a month of action
Hakim Ziyech helped put Morocco on the brink of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022 with a 2-0 win over Central African Republic on Tuesday evening
However, Chelsea’s last game – a 4-1 home triumph over bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United – demonstrated Ziyech’s qualities as he claimed two excellent assists to help Frank Lampard’s side maintain their recent run of good form.
After a few indifferent results in the early stages of the campaign, Lampard certainly appears to have got Chelsea heading in the right direction, with Ziyech playing a key role in their recent run of strong form.
However, the Chelsea boss has now been rocked by the news that he will most certainly be without his architect-in-chief for one month next season, after Morocco put themselves on the brink of qualifying for the African Cup of Nations in 2022.
The competition, which was last won by Algeria, was due to be staged next year, however, it has been forced to be pushed back a year due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
It means that the tournament in Cameroon will be staged over most of January and into February in 2022, with the dates still to be confirmed.
The timing of the tournament, as expected, has been met by groans by a cluster of Premier League managers, with some of their key players poised to miss a large portion of the season.
Lampard has already lost goalkeeper Edouard Mendy after Senegal sealed their passage to the finals on Sunday, defeating Guinea Bissau 1-0.
Now, Ziyech is poised to join Mendy in travelling to Cameroon for the tournament after Morocco put themselves on the brink of securing their route to the finals with a 2-0 win over Central African Republic on Tuesday evening, with the Chelsea ace bagging the game’s opening goal.
As well as scoring the opener, Ziyech also claimed an assist for Youssef En-Nesyri’s late strike.