Frank Lampard has denied suggestions that Dominic Calvert-Lewin was fit to face Liverpool but left out - as he revealed Ben Godfrey faces a fight to be fit for Everton’s remaining battle against relegation.
Everton face Chelsea – Lampard’s previous employers as a manager and the club where he spent the majority of his playing career – on Sunday having slipped into the drop zone for the first time last weekend when a 2-0 Merseyside Derby defeat to Liverpool followed Burnley’s 1-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In his pre-match press conference for Chelsea’s visit, Lampard was asked about suggestions from various sources claiming Calvert-Lewin was fit to play at Anfield but was omitted from the squad.
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He replied: “They’re not true. That’s the unfortunate rumour mill in football.” When it came to availability for this weekend, the Blues boss added: “ Yerry [Mina] is back in the squad, Yerry was more being careful with him because he’d been out for a while and had played the previous game a few days before.
“ Ben [Godfrey] is out and will be a few weeks out. We would love to get him back towards the end of the season but it will be a close call.
“Dominic is back in the squad, he’s been training the last couple of days. Donny [van de Beek] is out, Donny’s not fit and nor is Andre Gomes.”
Tom Davies recently returned to Everton training, and when asked for an update on the midfielder, Lampard said: "Delighted. He's a great lad. We just need to get him more training minutes, hopefully game minutes because he's been out for a while. Hopefully he can contribute in the final part of the season."
