Édouard Mendy Set for Late Fitness Test After Returning to Chelsea Training
By Tom Gott
Chelsea will give goalkeeper Édouard Mendy every chance to prove his fitness ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Sevilla, after the goalkeeper returned to training earlier than expected.
Mendy picked up an elbow injury on international duty and was initially predicted to miss around two weeks of action. He sat out Saturday's 3-3 draw with Southampton but has since returned to training ahead of schedule.
The Telegraph note that Mendy joined in with the group on both Sunday and Monday, leaving Frank Lampard with a major decision to make ahead of Tuesday's crucial game.
Lampard has been unimpressed with his alternatives this season, with both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Willy Caballero failing to cover themselves in glory. It was the former who started against Southampton and again hit the headlines for his role in the Saints' calamitous second goal.
A poor back pass from Kurt Zouma forced Arrizabalaga to make a rushed decision on a clearance, and he ultimately pulled out of the challenge and gifted Che Adams with a goal.
The Blues have now conceded 63 goals in just 43 games under Lampard, but the boss suggested in a press conference that this could be down to poor goalkeeping, rather than poor defending in general.
“In terms of the goals conceded, yes I am aware of the stats," Lampard said. "I don’t know if you were listening before, but the other stat is since we have been here, we have conceded the second least shots in the Premier League behind Man City, so sometimes it helps you to narrow down some of the issues.
“And the issues are that we don't concede too many shots on goal, but when we do we concede goals. It’s something we are aware of, we were aware of when you look at our recruitment."
Mendy was brought in to help address that issue, and he did keep a clean sheet in his only Premier League game so far - the 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.
The Senegal international played behind fellow new arrival Thiago Silva, who is expected to be restored to the lineup as well after missing the Southampton game with fatigue.