Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard faces an uncertain future at the club after reportedly walking away from the bench after being an unused substitute in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Swansea City.
Lampard 33, has struggled to break into Andre Villas-Boas’ starting line-up this season, starting three of the last four matches on the bench, but with Saturday being the first occasion he has failed to take the field at some stage.
Villas-Boas opted to replace Raul Meireles with 18-year-old Josh McEachran during Saturday’s game, with the Mail on Sunday reporting that Lampard immediately left his seat on the touchline and walked down the tunnel without speaking to his manager.
Lampard was also taken off at half-time in Chelsea’s recent 3-1 loss at Old Trafford against Manchester United, suggesting that Villas-Boas may have potential problems with the England international in his tactical ideas.
However, the Portuguese tactician attempted to play down speculation that there was a problem with the former West Ham man.
“I don’t know but this is nothing to speculate about. They are team players and the players want the team to perform, and Frank is like that. He is a fantastic player, a magnificent player and soon he will be back to the team, sooner than you expect.
“The decisions today were mainly based on the fact we played 120 minutes (in the Carling Cup) on Wednesday and these players were fresh, apart from John Terry and Petr Cech. In a tight calendar like we have, it’s important to have squad rotation.”
Chelsea travel to Bolton next Sunday with Lampard hoping to play some part at the Reebok Stadium.
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