Massive double injury boost for Chelsea against Roma announced, quadruple star absence confirmed

Italian Serie A giant AS Roma have named both Kevin Strootman and forward Stephan El Shaarawy in their 19-man squad for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League trip to Premier League Champions Chelsea, handing manager Eusebio Di Francesco a double fitness boost.

Strootman missed the 1-0 loss to in-form Napoli on Saturday and withdrew from the Netherlands team for the last pair of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Belarus and Sweden. This came after he only lasted 30 minutes of his team’s win over 10-man AC Milan on October 1.

While El Shaarawy and Strootman have both travelled to the City of London, centre-back Kostas Manolas is missing after suffering a grade one strain of his thigh muscle against Serie A leaders Napoli. Strikers Gregoire Defrel and Patrik Schick are dealing with their own thigh problem, while Brazilian Emerson Palmieri injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee on the last day of the 2016-17 League season and later underwent surgery.

As for the Blues, manager Antonio Conte has confirmed that striker Alvaro Morata is in contention to feature against AS Roma after returning to training after a hamstring problem (as per Ibtimes). However, midfield pair N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater both remain absent along with wing-back Victor Moses.