Lampard explains Chelsea's decision to block Chukwuemeka from joining England's U20 World Cup squad

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 21 May 2023 10:37 BST
• 3 min read

Frank Lampard has admitted that Carney Chukwuemeka is disappointed at the club's decision to prevent him from joining England's U20 World Cup squad until after the Premier League season ends.

Chukwuemeka, 19, joined Chelsea from Aston Villa last summer, but has struggled for game time throughout the campaign and has not yet featured since Lampard took over as interim boss in April.

In total, the midfielder has played just 241 senior minutes this season, with the bulk of his involvement coming off the bench as a late substitute. He has started just one Premier League game this term (a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace) and has not been included in a matchday squad in the competition since Graham Potter's last game in charge.

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However, despite his lack of involvement, Chelsea decided to block Chukwuemeka from linking up with the national team following injuries to Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante.

What has Lampard said?

Ahead of Chelsea's clash against champions Manchester City, Lampard was questioned about the Blues' decision to deny Chukwuemeka the chance of playing for England until the conclusion of the Premier League season.

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"He’s a Chelsea player and we’ve got injuries in that area," Lampard replied to reporters. "The situation with Carney is he’s come into a club, a big move for him, and this season hasn’t managed to get so many minutes [due to the size of the squad], and settling in at a new club.

“Hopefully there’s opportunity in these three games for him. He’s our player, and we have lost players we need him to stay.

There’s a possibility he can join up at the end of the season if the team get through into the next stages. It might be the best of both worlds in an ideal way but it’s our player and we had to make that decision.

“I felt a bit for Carney, he was keen to go but at the same time what happened meant he had to stay.”

Chelsea will be without eight first-team players for the trip to Pep Guardiola's Man City, with Lampard suffering a late season injury crisis that could see both Chukwuemeka and fellow youngster Lewis Hall included in the starting XI. Benoit Badiashile, Reece James and Mason Mount are among the injured absentees.