Frank Lampard has revealed that Kalidou Koulibaly will miss Chelsea's clash against Arsenal on Tuesday night but Kai Havertz could return to the matchday squad. The Blues are in desperate need of a win against the Gunners, with Lampard having lost all five of his games in charge after returning to Stamford Bridge as caretaker manager.
Koulibaly has been sidelined with a calf injury since the 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Havertz missed the 2-0 loss against Brentford last week but is in contention to play against Mikel Arteta's side at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow night.
Mason Mount and Reece James are expected to miss the remainder of the season, with the former still facing an uncertain future at Chelsea. Marc Cucurella is another absentee for Lampard, with the Spanish defender set to miss 'another two weeks' of action before returning prior to the end of the season.
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Speaking ahead of the Blues' Premier League clash against Arsenal, Lampard offered a fresh update on a number of players in his squad - including Koulibaly and Havertz. "Koulibaly - out for a while yet," he said.
"Tight call for the season, working away. Been impressed with him, he's a professional.
"Cucurella will be another two weeks or so. Mason [Mount] and Reece [James] you already know. Kai Havertz is in contention [to play vs Arsenal]."
Lampard hinted that he could look to start Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against his former side on Tuesday night after the Gabonese striker has endured a torrid time at Chelsea in his debut season. The Blues boss said: "He's [Aubameyang] fit and ready - I'll pick that position on my feeling on how they've trained and the team structure."
Lampard admitted his side are low on confidence heading into the clash against the Gunners but is hoping that hard work will help turn their fortunes around. "They're low on confidence and low on performance," he added.
"I've been here in periods where confidence is low. In history we managed to get it back through hard work, level of the squad, we changed manager a lot.
"It's different now in terms of the modern player and what expectations are. You shouldn't be talking about team confidence but it's clearly an issue at the minute."
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