Frank Lampard Offers Emerson, Andreas Christensen Injury Updates Before Grimsby

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has confirmed that left-back Emerson will not be back in action until at least mid-October following the thigh injury he picked up against Liverpool on Sunday. 

The Blues were beaten 2-1 at Stamford Bridge by the European champions, but performed well for long spells of the game. Their efforts were made all the more impressive given two players went off before half time, with Emerson and Andreas Christensen both hobbling out of the encounter.

While Lampard had relatively positive news on the latter ahead of the team's League Cup clash with Grimsby Town on Wednesday, he noted the former is set to be sidelined for a longer spell, per the Chelsea website:

"Andreas is not too severe. Hopefully he won't be out for too long but I can't give a timeframe. 

"Emerson now won't be back until the other side of the international break [which is during mid-October]. It will be a few weeks because it is the reoccurrence of an injury so we have to be a bit careful with it."

The club also confirmed that Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James will play some part in the game as they step up their respective recoveries from injury.

Chelsea found themselves two goals down at half time against Liverpool, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino on the scoresheet.

However, despite losing the two defenders mentioned, the Blues responded well in the second half, with N'Golo Kante netting for the hosts. Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount both missed opportunities to level the game late on, too:

Emerson's absence will represent a blow for the Blues, as the former Roma man had started to establish himself in the side ahead of Marcos Alonso. The latter performed well when he entered the game on Sunday but struggled for long spells last season.

Per Miguel Delaney of The Independent, Emerson arguably could have done more to prevent Alexander-Arnold opening the scoring for Liverpool:

In the centre of defence, Lampard will hope he has enough depth to cover for any short-term layoff for Christensen. 

Fikayo Tomori impressed on Sunday and clearly has huge potential, while Kurt Zouma is another dependable option despite a challenging start to the season. Lampard also recently said he's hopeful Antonio Rudiger isn't out for too much longer; the Germany international was the team's best defender last season.

The defensive injuries will do little to help Lampard in his quest to shore Chelsea up at the back. While the side have showcased flashes of exciting attacking play under his guidance, they have already conceded 13 goals from their six Premier League games.