Frank Lampard is set to include Chelsea academy starlet Lewis Bate in his matchday squad for Saturday’s trip to face Sheffield United after being dealt a double injury blow in midfield.
The Blues will be without both N’Golo Kante and Billy Gilmour for the clash at Bramall Lane, with the latter ruled out for as long as four months after requiring an operation on his knee.
Kante, meanwhile, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, Mateo Kovacic has only just recovered from an achilles injury and Jorginho is yet to start a match since the season restarted.
That has seen Lampard once again turn to Chelsea’s thriving academy for reinforcements, with Goal.com reporting that young midfielder Bate will travel to Sheffield with the rest of the squad.
The 17-year-old has been a regular fixture in both the Under-18 and Under-23 sides this season and is widely regarded as the most promising player in his age group at the club.
He has been training with the first-team squad since lockdown restrictions started to ease, with Lampard clearly earmarking him as a player for the future – though the Chelsea boss will not have expected to call on him so soon.
Speaking about his involvement in first-team training recently, Bate told Chelsea’s official website: ‘I was sitting in my garden with my family and I got a call from the club doctor saying I needed to come in for a Covid-19 test the next day because I was joining the first-team bubble.
‘I thought it would be just in case they needed us but within two days I had joined in training in small groups at Cobham. We began working on fitness because the first team had a week’s training on us already but then after a week we all joined in together and it’s been consistent ever since.
‘I trained with them four times during the normal season and the tempo and quality is high but training with them day-in, day-out just highlights how much quality they have – even after three months without playing! It’s been a good experience and playing with the world-class players we have will only make us better footballers.
‘Kante is a central midfielder like me and I’m learning from him – the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch is good. One day I’ll be on the same team as him in training and the next day I’ll be up against him trying to play as the opposition do, which will only help make me a better player as I have to raise my game.’
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