Chelsea manager Frank Lampard confirmed that Tino Anjorin will stay with the first-team while Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi recover from injuries.
Lampard announced that the injury scan results suggest that both Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi could be out for a couple of weeks (via Chelsea’s official website).
It means the Chelsea manager will have very limited wide options for the next three or four fixtures.
At the moment, Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner are the only two obvious choices, while either Kai Havertz or Mason Mount could be the back-up options.
However, as we have seen this season, Mount and Havertz have been very important in midfield for Lampard’s 4-3-3 system.
To deal with the situation, Lampard has decided to keep Anjorin in the first-team bubble for the time being.
“He [Anjorin] is a player that I feel the more he trains with us, the better he gets,” Lampard told reporters in his post-match press conference (via Chelsea’s official website).
“I think it’s a really good environment for him [to develop].
“With the injuries we have, in the short term, he will spend more time with us [the first team].
“I thought he did very well tonight and it was a really good debut. He seemed to grow into the game as it went a long.”
As Lampard pointed out, having Anjorin as a back-up winger will also be beneficial for his development.
Aside from the wide role, the 19-year-old could also provide cover in midfield which is his natural position.
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