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Antonio Conte admits it's highly unlikely Olivier Giroud will start against Watford on Monday despite the continued absence of Alvaro Morata.
Chelsea sealed the £18m signing of Giroud from London rivals Arsenal on the final day of the winter transfer window, but the deal was not finalised in time for the striker to feature against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
With Morata still suffering from a back injury and Michy Batshuayi allowed to leave on loan for Borussia Dortmund, Eden Hazard was deployed in the 'false No.9' position - although the Belgian couldn't inspire Chelsea to a win, with the champions instead being beaten 3-0 in west London.
Morata is still sidelined with his back injury, meaning that Giroud
is now Chelsea's only other recognised striker ahead of Chelsea's
Premier League trip to take on Watford on Monday night.
But Conte suggested that the Frenchman will still not start at Vicarage Road while Chelsea's other January signing, Emerson Palmieri, is also unlikely to start against Watford, with Marcos Alonso set to keep his place at left wing-back.
Speaking to reporters at Cobham, Conte said: "We have to wait. Especially for Palmieri, we are talking about a player who is coming back from a bad injury. He has played only one game, in the Italian Cup against Torino.
"Olivier is coming back from a muscular injury and was out for 50 days before playing 15 minutes against Swansea.
"You have to try and make the best decisions to bring these two players to the best physical condition, and then work with them. It's important to adapt them to our idea of football.
"Alvaro is still out. I hope to be able to solve his situation. For a problem in his back, he's missing a lot of games, and this is not a good situation for me or the team. I hope in the future that the medical department is able to solve this situation."
CULLED FROM EVENING STANDARD
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| Getty Images |
Chelsea sealed the £18m signing of Giroud from London rivals Arsenal on the final day of the winter transfer window, but the deal was not finalised in time for the striker to feature against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
With Morata still suffering from a back injury and Michy Batshuayi allowed to leave on loan for Borussia Dortmund, Eden Hazard was deployed in the 'false No.9' position - although the Belgian couldn't inspire Chelsea to a win, with the champions instead being beaten 3-0 in west London.
But Conte suggested that the Frenchman will still not start at Vicarage Road while Chelsea's other January signing, Emerson Palmieri, is also unlikely to start against Watford, with Marcos Alonso set to keep his place at left wing-back.
Speaking to reporters at Cobham, Conte said: "We have to wait. Especially for Palmieri, we are talking about a player who is coming back from a bad injury. He has played only one game, in the Italian Cup against Torino.
"You have to try and make the best decisions to bring these two players to the best physical condition, and then work with them. It's important to adapt them to our idea of football.
"Alvaro is still out. I hope to be able to solve his situation. For a problem in his back, he's missing a lot of games, and this is not a good situation for me or the team. I hope in the future that the medical department is able to solve this situation."
CULLED FROM EVENING STANDARD
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