Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata reveals he could be fit to face Crystal Palace
Spaniard suffered a grade-two tear to his hamstring in the defeat to Man City and there were fears he faced six weeks out
ALVARO MORATA is targeting a return from injury against Crystal Palace - meaning the striker may not miss a single game for Chelsea.
The £58million Spaniard was said to have suffered a grade-two tear to his hamstring in the defeat to Manchester City and there were fears he faced six weeks out.
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But Morata has posted an update on social media, with an emoticon of a target next to "Crystal Palace" - before later deleting the Tweet.
Chelsea are currently making their own assessment of Morata's injury, after the international diagnosis from his national teams docs.
They expect the results in the next 48 hours but will not start treating him the problem settles down.
Blues face a strip to face the Eagles at Selhurt Park on October 14 in their first game after the international break.
The striker added on Twitter: "I have no time to lose! Working hard towards recovery!"
If initial fears prove true that he is ruled out for at least a month, that would leave Morata in danger of missing the title crunch with Manchester United on November 5.
If a scan at Chelsea confirmed the Spanish diagnosis, Morata would miss Prem games against Palace and Watford, plus a Champions League doubleheader with Roma and possibly the United clash.
The Spanish Football Federation dropped the injury bombshell yesterday after their MRI scan revealed a grade-two hamstring tear.
The striker, 24, hobbled off during Saturday's 1-0 defeat to City, with Blues boss Antonio Conte admitting he took a risk by starting his star.
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Morata was sent home from the Spain camp and will now miss World Cup qualifying clashes against Albania and Israel.
But the positive update suggests Conte may not have to rely on Michy Batshuayi to lead the line.
Blues midfielder Cesc Fabregas, 30, blamed the loss to City on tiredness.
He said: "This was the same Chelsea of last season but we were against a City side much better rested. Nothing more.
"We knew it would be a difficult week starting with the trip to Stoke and arriving back from Madrid at 5am on Thursday.
"City had played two home games and had an extra day's rest."