Antonio
Conte says Chelsea's trip to pointless Crystal Palace on Saturday will come
too soon for Alvaro Morata but he is hoping to have the Spain forward back
to face Roma in the Champions League.
However, N'Golo Kante requires a scan on a hamstring injury suffered with
France in the 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Bulgaria last Saturday and
is likely to be out for the rest of the month.
Striker Morata missed international duty due to his hamstring problem
sustained against Manchester City on September 30, but after initial fears
of a long lay-off he then targeted returning for the Palace contest.
Wednesday's Champions League tie at home to the Italians, where the Blues
will be seeking a third win from three Group C games, is now Morata's focus
claims Conte.
"As you know very well we have three injured players. [Alvaro] Morata, I
hope to have him back very soon, for the next game," said the Italian.
"[Danny] Drinkwater is progressing well but not ready yet. We must have
patience with his calf problem. We may have to adapt some defenders into
midfielders."
"And Kante, we are going to do a scan next week to check is situation. He's
improving but, for sure, he has a hamstring problem and this is a big loss
for us because you know very well the importance of Kante in our team.
"From the previous scan, maybe he will be out for around 20 or 21 days.
"We don't have a similar player with the same characteristics. Now we have
Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas. We have to find different solutions."
The domestic fixture schedule in the next few weeks is favourable for the
injury-hit Blues, who are seeking to respond from the 1-0 home reverse to
City as Premier League fixtures with Watford and at Bournemouth are
sandwiched in a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Everton.
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