Eight Chelsea players in quarantine as six test positive following post-season holiday

Chelsea’s preparations for the new season have been disrupted with the news that eight players are in quarantine, with six first-team stars having tested positive for the coronavirus upon returning from holiday.

The news will come as a major blow to Frank Lampard with Chelsea due to open their Premier League campaign at Brighton on September 14, with the west London side now set to be without a significant portion of their squad for pre-season training in the coming days.

According to the Telegraph, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham are two of the players in quarantine and the duo are now doubts to feature for England in next month’s Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark, whilst Fikayo Tomori and Christian Pulisic – who both met up with Mount and Abraham on the Greek holiday island of Mykonos – are also confirmed absentees from first-team training.

It is also reported that Ross Barkley, Michy Batshuayi, Jorginho and Emerson Palmieri are also set for a period in quarantine, though the report has withheld the names of exactly which six players have received a positive test result.

None of the eight players will return to Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and must now begin their preparations for the season alone, a headache for Lampard whose side is just 18 days away from the new campaign.

According to government guidelines, those who have received a positive test result must isolate for 10 days, while those who have been in close proximity but have tested negative will need to isolate for two weeks.

Chelsea will however head into the new season in optimistic mood after completing the signings of Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, whilst the west London outfit are closing in on the free transfer signing of former Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva and continuing talks over a deal for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz.

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