Chelsea boss confirms injury blow ahead of Bournemouth clash

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has confirmed that defender Fikayo Tomori won't return to action when the Blues entertain Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

The central defender missed the midweek Champions League clash against Lille with a hip problem and Lampard has revealed that the youngster has yet to recover from the setback.

"[Fikayo] Tomori is not fit for the game, following on from the other day. Hopefully he should be training next week," he was quoted as saying by The Mirror, speaking at a press conference.

Tomori has been one of the Blues' standout performers during the first half of the season under Lampard and his performances were recently rewarded with a fresh five-year contract.

In his absence, Antonio Rudiger and Kurt Zouma should continue at the heart of the backline but Lampard has the choice of fielding Andreas Christensen in place of one of them.

The Blues are currently occupying the fourth spot on the table with 26 points. Their gap over fifth-placed Manchester United stands at five points after picking up just one win in the past four league games.