Édouard Mendy back in training ahead of schedule; could feature against Sevilla — report

The man you see in the picture above is Thiago Silva, from today’s training session at Cobham. But if you look behind him, you will see (some of) Édouard Mendy in goal. We can’t actually see his face, but those gloves are impossible to miss!

When asked on Friday about Mendy’s injury status, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard said that his new goalkeeper “probably will be fit in the next week or two weeks”. Given Lampard’s penchant for underplaying injuries and giving far too optimistic prognoses, we took this mean that the 28-year-old would miss at least one more week, if not two, especially if his “thigh” injury was in fact a hamstring strain.

But, as it turns out, Lampard may have been on the money this one time. According to the Telegraph, Mendy has been back in training since yesterday, and could feature in tomorrow’s Champions League group stage opener against Sevilla after a late fitness test.

As exciting as that may be, it may be wise to take it slow with hamstring injuries, which can linger most annoyingly if not treated properly the first time.