Conte explains why Baba Rahman will be allowed to leave on loan

Baba Rahman looks all but set to re-join Schalke 04 on loan for the rest of the season, twelve months after his previous loan to the Bundesliga side was cut short thanks to a serious ACL tear he suffered while playing for Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations. Baba’s injury and following setback in recovery have meant that he’s not had any significant football action in almost a year as he’s only been able to join first-team training once or twice since the summer.

As Conte had hinted at before, the work to recover Baba’s physical fitness is only starting and that means he probably won’t be able to contribute for a decent while yet. This is also a consideration for Schalke of course, though they seem a bit more willing to take on the rish of relying on the 23-year-old while he’s returning to match condition. While that may sound a bit harsh, Chelsea’s needs at left wing-back are immediate.

“Baba is recovering from a bad injury. I had the possibility to see him in training with us only once or twice. He wasn’t ready to have a full training session with us.

“Now he is recovering and it could be an interesting option for the player, to try to recover with them. For sure, he is not ready in this moment to play, otherwise Baba Rahman would stay with us in my squad.”

-Antonio Conte; source: Chelsea FC

Schalke director Christian Heidel claimed earlier this week that they’ve basically agreed personal terms with Baba already and all they were waiting for is “one or two things to clear up” on Chelsea’s end.

A resolution should not be too far off at this point.