Rudiger remains sidelined but Kante ‘close’ to return

Antonio Rudiger will miss Chelsea’s game against Watford on Saturday along with N’Golo Kante, Ross Barkley and Andreas Christensen.

Blues boss Frank Lampard said on Friday afternoon that he was “surprised” at Rudiger being quoted as saying he was fit to return after a groin injury.

Lampard revealed that the defender is instead set to see a consultant and it is unclear when he will be able to return.

“He’s not fit. I saw the quotes but there’s been a miscommunication,” Lampard said.

“I was surprised by the quotes because he’s not fit. He’s going to see a consultant on Monday because he has an ongoing issue in his pelvic area which is bothering him.

“We’ll have to wait until then for a further update.”

On a more positive note for Chelsea, Lampard added that the injury-plagued Kante is “close” to being available, as is Barkley. Both could feature in next week’s Champions League game against Ajax.

Christensen, meanwhile, is back in full training after a hamstring problem but does not appear to be fit enough to be considered for selection.