FRANK LAMPARD hopes striker Tammy Abraham has escaped serious injury after being carried off on a stretcher.
Boss Lamps also admits his Blues were let off the hook on an explosive European night which leaves their Champions League future wide open.
Tammy Abraham tried his best to walk off what looked like an excruciatingly painful injuryCredit: AFP OR LICENSORS
The striker could walk no more and ended up being taken from the field of play on a stretcherCredit: Getty
Chelsea’s 11-goal top scorer was in tears after crushing his hip in an aerial challenge and limped out of the Mestalla helped by a club official.
Abraham, 22, said: “I was fearful of the worst but I got in and was able to walk again and hopefully it is not too long.
“It was a knee to my hip area and I hope it’s only bruising.
“I’ll have a scan, maybe an X-ray and see what the news is. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious.”
Chelsea’s top scorer says he received a knee to the back that seemed to have knocked something out of placeCredit: AFP
Lampard said: “The word at half-time was that it looked quite severe. Then the word after the game was
it might not be as severe as we first thought.”
But BT pundit and former Blues boss Glenn Hoddle feared Abraham might face a long lay-off.
He said: “If it’s a hip injury then it’s going to be complicated.
“You just hope it’s not an internal problem with his kidney or something like that but he did look in absolute agony.”
Chelsea require victory at home to Lille in their final Group H match next month to make sure of a place in the last 16.
KEPA’S MIXED NIGHT
They were eight minutes from going through before keeper Kepa was lobbed by a sensational cross from Valencia full-back Daniel Wass.
Kepa also saved a penalty and there was an agonising three- minute delay before VAR allowed Christian Pulisic’s second-half goal to stand.
Lampard added: “Did I love the match? No, I didn’t love it — because it hasn’t been many times this season where I have had to say, ‘We kind of got away with that’.
“Today was one of those. We should be better defensively.
“I will have to look at their goal again and if Kepa feels he could have got it then I’m sure he would say that.
“But we can’t take away from the penalty save. It was a fantastic one, that’s what top keepers do.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
