Chelsea ease fears of long Morata lay-off

Chelsea doctors are yet to put a timescale on Alvaro Morata’s return from injury but hope it could be earlier than first feared.

He pulled out of the Spain squad for the games against Albania and Israel. The Spanish Federation revealed the 24-year-old had undergone an MRI scan that revealed a grade-two injury. Medical experts claim that a grade-two hamstring injury can sideline a player for anywhere between four to six weeks, but Chelsea doctors believe they can get him back earlier after initially assessing Morata yesterday.

Chelsea medical staff will continue to work with Morata over the next couple of days. He tweeted a picture of himself in a Chelsea training kit with the message: “I have no time to lose! Working hard towards recovery! Crystal Palace.”

But that tweet was quickly deleted and the Palace game on Saturday week could still come too quickly. Chelsea also play Roma twice in the Champions League this month before Manchester United visit Stamford Bridge on Nov 5, so head coach Antonio Conte will not want to take any unnecessary risks.

After watching Morata limp off in the 35th minute of the defeat against Manchester City, Conte admitted he took a gamble over the fitness of Chelsea’s record signing by starting him. Losing Morata for any length of time would be a considerable blow for Conte. He again demonstrated that he does not fully trust Michy Batshuayi by replacing his No9 with Willian against City.

Meanwhile, Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will be sidelined for six weeks – rather than four as originally indicated – as a result of the injuries he suffered in a car crash in Amsterdam, according to Argentina national team doctor Donato Villani.