Chelsea working to get Álvaro Morata fit in half the time than initially projected

As Chelsea wait for news on N’Golo Kanté — apparently Wednesday is the day for the scans, though Conte is not expected to give any updates until Friday’s press conference — the Telegraph report that the club’s doing everything possible to get Álvaro Morata fit and firing by AS Roma game next Wednesday.

If Morata were able to play that game, he will have recovered from his hamstring strain in less than three weeks, or about half the time from the initially projected 4-5 week absence. Chelsea’s leading goalscorer limped out of the game against Manchester City on the last day of September, then was diagnosed with a grade II strain by Spanish national team doctors, but Chelsea’s medical team continue to insist that the injury is not that serious.

The Morata-in-time-for-Roma expectation has been gathering momentum all weekend, so perhaps Spain were indeed being a bit too conservative with their assessment. Either way, regardless of the importance of the Roma game, hopefully we’re not pushing Morata too quickly.

Chelsea will resume play after the international break with a cross-town trip to Crystal Palace, then face three home games in three different competitions over an eight-day period.