Chelsea manager Frank Lampard says both N’Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will need to return to full training in order to aid their recovery to match fitness.

Kante was sidelined with an adductor problem before the pause in the football season, while Loftus-Cheek had been slowly making his way back to first-team action by playing Under 23 games after a lengthy Achilles injury.

Lampard says that the club have been doing extra work with the pair whilst training has been suspended but there is only so much they can do while the players remain at home:

“Recently we have tried to get those players who have had extra problems a bit fitter, and of course if and when we get a chance to get back to full training we can hopefully get them to where we want to be.”

Mateo Kovacic (Achilles), Christian Pulisic (groin), Callum Hudson-Odoi (hamstring) and Tammy Abraham (ankle) also missed Chelsea’s last game in March against Everton but all four are said to be ready to make their comebacks as and when the Premier League returns.

There have been reports that full contact training will be allowed by the end of this month, but a lot will depend on the measures that will likely be announced by the UK government this week for easing the lockdown.