Chelsea Striker Tammy Abraham Provides Update on Ankle Injury

Tammy Abraham is hopeful he will be back fit in time to be available for England's friendlies against Italy and Denmark later this month.

The Chelsea striker is sidelined with a recurrence of an ankle injury that he originally suffered in January's 2-2 draw against Arsenal.

He has missed four of Chelsea's seven games since and has only started one of the other three.

The Englishman has now made it clear he will only return again when he is back to being fully fit.

When asked whether he would be in line to join up with the England squad, Abraham replied confidently, per James Olley of the Evening Standard:

"Yes, definitely. I'm almost fit. There's still a bit to do. I'll get there soon. It's a recurrence. [The problem was] playing on it and aggravating it even more. It is still like a swollen ball really but it is getting better day by day.

"The club wanted me to go to Barcelona [for a consultation]. They just wanted different eyes, a different mindset on this situation. He told me what was wrong, exactly what the Chelsea physios said and he recommended some stuff for me to do. I'm doing physio right now. This time, I just said, 'I'll just come back when I'm 100 per cent' instead of coming back and going again."

Abraham is a big loss for Chelsea as he has largely enjoyed a superb 2019-20 campaign.

He has established himself as the Blues' No. 1 striker option, netting 13 goals and providing three assists in 25 appearances in the English top flight:

The 22-year-old's fine form saw him called up to the England squad for their final UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers back in October and November.

He scored his first goal for the Three Lions in a 7-0 win over Montenegro at Wembley Stadium.

Abraham could well be crucial for Gareth Southgate at Euro 2020 this summer because Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford are both sidelined with long-term injuries.

Both are expecting to return in time for the Europe-wide tournament, but they may not be match fit for England's group games, which start with June 14's clash against Croatia.

Per Olley, Abraham described the possibility of appearing for England at a major tournament as a "dream come true," and if he can return in time for the March friendlies, he can stake his claim to be included in the squad.