Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham will be given "every possible chance" to make his return against Aston Villa on Wednesday, Frank Lampard has said.
The 22-year-old came off at half-time of the Champions League draw with Valencia on November 27 with a hip injury. As a result, he missed the 1-0 home defeat to West Ham at the weekend when the Blues failed to score in the Premier League for the first time since the opening weekend of the season.
However, the club could have its top scorer back when it hosts Villa, the club he spent last season on loan with.
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"We're giving him every possible chance to be fit," Lampard said at a pre-match news conference.
"He's still got some pain in the area of the injury, [we will] make a judgement tomorrow.
"It's painful for him, so it's a pain threshold and whether it affects his movements. So I wouldn't want to commit today.
"He was in good form and with players that are important, you want to give them as much time.
"He's keen and we're trying our best to give him time, but if he's not ready we have to go in a different route anyway."
Midfielder Ross Barkley is likely to miss out again, though, with the England international having not played for Chelsea in almost two months due to an ankle injury. The 25-year-old's comeback has been delayed due to illness, while defender Antonio Rudiger is still not ready to return from a groin problem.
"Ross has actually been sick," Lampard added. "He was ill Sunday night, so he was in this morning but he's not recovered enough to be ready for the game.
"Rudiger is close, he's really stepped up his training, particularly in the last week.
"So we're hoping he'll be available in the next week to 10 days."
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