Chelsea boss Antonio Conte confirms Alvaro Morata is back in contention vs Southampton

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Vaishali Bhardwaj15 December 2017

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte has confirmed Alvaro Morata is in contention to play against Southampton on Saturday despite the striker still experiencing pain in his back.

Standard Sport first reported that Morata was forced to pull out early from Chelsea's training session a day before the club's London derby clash with West Ham and undergo a scan.

However, he still started at the London Stadium but disappointed as Chelsea lost 1-0 to David Moyes' side.

Conte subsequently omitted Morata from his squad that took on Huddersfield on Tuesday night, and confirmed it was because the striker has a back issue and has been struggling with tiredness.

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But Chelsea's top scorer has returned to full training and will make Conte's squad when the Blues host Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to reporters at Cobham on Friday, Conte said: "He's better, he's better.

"He trained with us. He trained with us two days ago, and also today. He has this pain in his back, but he's in contention for tomorrow's game."

David Luiz is still not fit enough to feature for Chelsea, although the defender has returned to running on the pitch.

The Brazilian has been sidelined with inflammation in his right knee, but was seen doing an individual training session with physios at Cobham on Friday.

But Chelsea are keen not to rush the defender back from his injury, and do not know when he will be in contention to play again.

"David has a big inflammation in his knee, and we are trying to solve the situation with the doctor," Conte said. "It's important to assess the situation day by day, and to try to solve this problem.

"I don't know when he's able to come back with us but, for sure, with the doctor and the medical department, we are trying to solve this situation. The situation is an inflammation in his knee.

"The player is working apart. In the last days he was out to work in the pool. Today I saw him on the pitch, to try to run a bit. But very, very slow. I think that this is a serious problem, but we hope to solve this problem as soon as possible."

When asked if Luiz has been frustrated at not being able to play, Conte replied: "I think every player is frustrated when he doesn't play, especially when you have an injury.

"There is a lot of frustration for the injury. Every player wants to enjoy the training session, to try and put the coach in difficulty with his choices. I understand because I was a player.

"When I was injured my feeling was very bad. It was sad. You want to feel very well and then t be available for the competition, for the training session, and to be in contention for the competition. But injuries are part of their jobs."

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