Chelsea manager updates on fitness of first-team duo

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has provided an injury update on Ross Barkley and Tammy Abraham ahead of the club's Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

The west London side have recently slumped to back-to-back defeats in the Premier League but they are still comfortably placed in the fourth position with a six-point gap over Tottenham Hotspur.

Speaking ahead of the Villains clash at Stamford Bridge, Lampard has confirmed that both Barkley and Rudiger will miss the encounter with the former being absent due to an illness.

Meanwhile, Rudiger has been involved in first-team training over the past few weeks but Lampard has cited that the German needs more time in order to get into the perfect shape.

"Lampard says that Ross Barkley has been sick and will not be available to face Aston Villa. Toni Rudiger has stepped up his training and could be back in contention in the next couple of weeks," a tweet read on the club's Twitter account.

Apart from this, Lampard provided an update on the fitness of Tammy Abraham following his recent hip injury. The 41-year-old stated that the striker could return to action, provided he passes the late fitness test.