Antonio Conte confirms Alvaro Morata is in contention to start against Roma in the Champions League
The Spain striker has recovered from his hamstring injury
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Your support makes all the difference.Alvaro Morata is expected to start Chelsea’s Champions League match against Roma on Wednesday night, after manager Antonio Conte confirmed in his pre-match press conference that he has returned to training following a hamstring injury.
The 24-year-old was substituted after 35 minutes of Chelsea's 1-0 loss to Manchester City in the Premier League, shortly before the international break.
The results of a medical assessment by the Spanish Football Federation suggested Morata could be out for around four weeks, but his recovery has been quicker than anticipated and Conte admitted he was likely to lead the line against Roma, who sit 5th in Serie A.
“Alvaro [Morata] is in contention for tomorrow's game. He has been training with us and in contention,” Conte said.
“We have players that are not used to playing three in a row. Kante and Moses, first time to play three games in a row, Morata the first time regularly, Alonso the same.
“Sometimes you have to take a risk, like Manchester City Morata got injured, but if I don't start him you tell me I'm crazy. Sometimes the players need to rest."
However Chelsea have a number of other injuries to contend with. Right wing-back Victor Moses is out with a hamstring injury, as is influential midfielder N'Golo Kante
Midfielder Danny Drinkwater (calf) remains sidelined, so Chelsea may play Davide Zappacosta in place of Moses and could push David Luiz or his fellow defender Andreas Christensen into midfield.
Provisional squad: Courtois, Caballero, Rudiger, Alonso, Fabregas, Morata, Hazard, Pedro, Bakayoko, Kenedy, Musonda, Zappacosta, Willian, Batshuayi, Cahill, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Clarke-Salter, Scott, Eduardo, Ampadu, Sterling.
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