Chelsea boss AVB to rest 'oldies'
England veteran Frank Lampard is facing the Chelsea axe in the Champions League opener at Stamford Bridge against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.
In a strange coincidence, Andre Villas-Boas’ decision comes after Spanish forward Fernando Torres castigated Chelsea’s older players as being “very slow” in an interview with the official website of Spain’s Primera Liga last week.
Chelsea have asked the out-of-form striker for an explanation, although Torres is understood to have claimed what he said was not accurately translated on his website.
Torres has struggled badly at Stamford Bridge since his move from Liverpool last January.
Nonethless, ‘The Sun’ reported that Chelsea boss Villas-Boas plans to rest his experienced stars ahead of Sunday’s big Premier League clash at leaders Manchester United which mean ‘oldies’ John Terry and Nicolas Anelka are also likely to miss the clash.
Villas-Boas is preparing to gamble with his Euro line-up despite the absence of Didier Drogba and Ramires.
He said: “You will see some changes to the team against Leverkusen and we will make some wise decisions for Sunday.”
Lampard, 33, played in all four of their opening games plus England’s win against Wales last week and Villas-Boas wants him in peak condition for the United clash, the report added.
Villas-Boas said: “It is very tight. Most of the players were away with their countries last week, we played at Sunderland on Saturday and now we have this European match.
“We have only four days to recover for Old Trafford and this has to play a part in my team selection.
“Hopefully we will make the right choices to win this game and the players will also be up to the level on Sunday.”
Drogba is definitely out of Tuesday’s game and will almost certainly miss the United clash as well.
The striker, 33, is still recovering from concussion suffered in the 3-1 win against Norwich two weeks ago and missed training to undergo dental treatment. Brazilian midfielder Ramires is suspended.
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