Álvaro Morata will miss Chelsea’s match at Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night because of a mixture of injury and fatigue, with Antonio Conte increasingly concerned by the strain a hectic schedule is placing on his first-team resources.
The striker was distinctly off-colour during the 1-0 defeat at West Ham United on Saturday, having struggled in the preceding week through illness and a knock sustained in training. Chelsea’s top scorer, with 10 goals, has had to shoulder a heavy burden up front during his first Premier League season in the absence of alternatives Conte trusts, but is now in line for an enforced rest that will inconvenience his manager.
“Morata is out, because he’s a bit tired and there is a problem in his back,” said Conte, who was at least able to welcome Danny Drinkwater back into the squad when Chelsea travelled north on Monday afternoon for the fourth of nine fixtures this month. Conte has become increasingly candid about the tiredness he believes is dogging his squad; the January window presents a chance to ease the load but he appeared to suggest he has limited influence in transfer dealings when asked whether conversations had taken place.
“We can have an idea but you can have an idea in summer [too],” he said. “But the final decision is always the club’s. That will be the same in January. It is right to do this: I’m only the coach, not the sporting director or manager.”
Conte bemoaned the fact that the players who faced West Ham had been able to spend only 50 minutes preparing to face a Huddersfield side that beat Brighton 2-0 at the weekend. “It is normal that you play with the same players and then they also lose some physical condition,” he said. Chelsea have used 20 different players in the Premier League this season although, for context, it is the same number called upon by Manchester City.
“I think we have to face the reality and will try to do our best,” Conte continued. “If I stay here to complain it is not the right way. For sure, it is difficult because to face a game every three days is not simple, especially if your squad is not big, but at the same time we have to face this situation. We have to find more rotations. I’m doing this, we will try and do our best with hunger and desire.”