Lampard set to miss Hawthorns trip

Frank Lampard is almost certain to be ruled out of Chelsea’s trip to Barclays Premiership strugglers West Brom on Saturday.

Lampard, who had his hamstring injury further assessed today, is unlikely to be risked by coach Jose Mourinho in the hope he will recover in time for the second leg of the Champions League tie with Barcelona on Tuesday.

Lampard’s injury, sustained in the first leg against the Spaniards, forced him to withdraw from the England squad ahead of the friendly against Uruguay and if he fails to recover in time for the trip to the Nou Camp, then Mourinho will be faced with a crisis in midfield.

Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien is already ruled out of the tie because of suspension and Lampard’s absence would severely hamper Chelsea’s hopes of overturning their 2-1 deficit.

Left-back Asier del Horno is also out of the tie through suspension following his dismissal in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho would be left with a potential midfield trio of Claude Makelele, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Maniche if the England midfielder cannot recover.

But the Chelsea coach has ruled out playing talented Lassana Diarra against Frank Rijkaard’s side believing the French youngster, who is being groomed as an eventual replacement for Makelele, is not yet ready for such a high-profile game.

Mourinho said: “I don’t think he’s ready for a knock-out game to reach the quarter-final like we are in at the moment.

“We believe in him but he has a process to go through.”

Diarra, 20, has started two FA Cup games and appeared three times from the bench since joining the club.

Mourinho added: “He has played against Betis and Anderlecht, and against Liverpool.

“When he came from France he had great quality but there’s a learning process for him to go through.

“It’s good for him to be next to Makelele. He’s a great image for him to have. But Makelele still has two years of high-level football in front of him.”

Chelsea, in the midst of mourning the death of former centre-forward Peter Osgood, were also waiting to learn the extent of the damage to England defender Wayne Bridge who injured his ankle ligaments during England’s win over Uruguay at Anfield.

The full-back, who is on loan at Fulham for the rest of the season, was undergoing a detailed assessment and further scans on the injury today.

The 25-year-old had only just returned to first-team action after recovering from a broken ankle he sustained in Chelsea’s FA cup quarter-final defeat by Newcastle last year.

Meanwhile chief executive Peter Kenyon was the guest of Asian Football Confederation president, Mohamed bin Hammam, for discussions concerning the future development of the Asian football market – particularly the growth in the game at grassroots level in China.

Top of the agenda was AFC’s development programme Vision Asia, with a specific focus on China.

Vision China has already achieved great success in the two pilot cities, Qingdao and Wuhan, and AFC plan to expand this to 15 additional cities.

Chelsea have made no secret of their objectives in relation to the Asian market, specifically China, in line with the future business strategies of many other European clubs.

Bin Hammam, said: “We are delighted to share our plans with Chelsea as our belief in what we have achieved to date, and what we will be able to achieve in the future, is total.

“We are now looking to engage the commercial sector in order for us to reach the grassroots level on a wider scale, to increase participation through the school leagues, achieve development both on and off the pitch with the city leagues, and ultimately provide a platform for greater success in China as a whole.”

Kenyon added: “We have been watching the development of Asian football from afar, and fully understand the future of this area. Our clear objective and vision is to develop Chelsea as an international club. This would not be possible without taking Asia very seriously.

“Chelsea’s mission is to build success, not buy success . This is directly compatible with the AFC’s plans. From what I’ve seen today with AFC’s development programme, Vision Asia, it will not be long before Asian football is on a par with European football.

“More importantly, they are very targeted, and committed to delivering logical, quality programmes that provide long-term benefits. This is definitely where Chelsea want to be positioned also.”

Meanwhile, Michael Becker, the agent of Bayern Munich and Germany captain Michael Ballack, continues to insist his client is heading to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Becker said: “Nothing has been signed but there will be ongoing contact with Chelsea. There is strong interest from both sides.

“The trend is in this direction (to move to Chelsea). Michael has initially been very keen on Real Madrid. But the leadership changes there in the last few months mean we don’t know what’s happening,” he told BBC Sport.