Callum Hudson-Odoi takes 'step forward' as Frank Lampard hail Chelsea display

Lampard on Hudson-Odoi: "He came back very early from a terrible injury."
Getty Images
Nick Purewal5 January 2020

Frank Lampard hailed Callum Hudson-Odoi for taking a "step forward" with his match-winning turn against Nottingham Forest.

Hudson-Odoi drilled Chelsea's opener and had a hand in Ross Barkley's tap-in as the Blues eased past Forest and into the FA Cup fourth round.

The 19-year-old endured a turbulent 2019 that included his England debut, being heavily courted by Bayern Munich, and a torn Achilles tendon.

The Chelsea forward ended an 18-match goalless streak with the opener against Forest as he searches for top form, though, leaving Blues head coach Lampard pleased with his showing.

"It's a good performance, I was pleased to see him high up the pitch and aggressive in how he wants to get at people," Lampard said.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest | 05/01/20

1/23

"He came back very early from a terrible injury, and there were still issues for some time with him getting absolutely tip-top from that.

"So this was a nice step forward for him. The next challenge will be next time we play, can he do that again?"

Asked how long it takes a player to get back to their best after a serious injury, Lampard added: "It depends on the player and the injury.

"With Callum, when you're a player of speed and sharpness, that's one of your main weapons, with an injury that severe that is slightly held back at first.

"He's done a lot of strength work on that. So now he's getting close to where he needs to be in terms of his speed and acceleration."

Lampard used the FA Cup clash as a chance to hand game-time to a host of fringe players, though precious few shone brightly.

Olivier Giroud remained an unused substitute as Michy Batshuayi enjoyed a rare start, with Tammy Abraham rested.

AFP via Getty Images

The France hitman is a rumoured January target for both Aston Villa and Newcastle, and Lampard reiterated assistant Jody Morris' words that Giroud could leave this month - but only in the right circumstances.

"There's no update on Ollie, but I've spoken with him," Lampard said of Giroud.

"If the conditions are that it's something he really wants to do and it works for the club, for me and the squad then it's something that could happen.

"But only when all of those bases are covered. So we'll see if we're there."

Action Images via Reuters

Danny Drinkwater is back at Chelsea after a loan stint with Burnley, and he could yet be heading out of Stamford Bridge again.

Asked if the former Leicester midfielder could be sent on loan again this month, Lampard said: "We'll see. It's a possibility."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in