Chelsea seem determined to turn their striker crisis into a full-out catastrophe

Chelsea have yet to do whatever they are going to do with Olivier Giroud in the transfer window, but they seem to know what they won’t do: let him and Michy Batshuayi relieve the injured Tammy Abraham. Does Gareth Southgate need to lead an intervention?

Chelsea have three strikers in the squad, and two of them are World Cup winners. The third is on the ascent in his career, but that could be derailed as early as this weekend if – as The Telegraph reports – Frank Lampard asks Tammy Abraham to “play through pain” against Leicester City.

If only there was a recent example of a manager who asked a player to play through pain as his team battled for their spot in the table and struggled to score goals. Oh, right there is. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer made that demand of Marcus Rashford, who lasted 15 minutes in a substitute appearance against Wolves earlier this month. He was later diagnosed with a double stress fracture in his back. With stress fractures, the key word is “stress,” as opposed to “trauma” or “impact.” Stress fractures build up over time until they reach a threshold of pain or mechanical limitations, at which point the athlete is usually out for much longer than it took for the injury to develop.

As a result of Solksjaer’s poor management, Manchester United are more desperate for a striker than Chelsea, and England is without their top two strikers, as Harry Kane is not expected to be ready for Euro 2020.

That should leave Chelsea in position to comfortably stay above Manchester United in the table, and for Tammy Abraham to lead the Three Lions’ line at least through Euro 2020 qualifiers, if not the main event.

But there are few words in the English language I hate as much as the word “should.”

Abraham played the full 90 minutes against Arsenal, mainly because Chelsea had already used their three substitutes by the time the injury cut into Abraham’s ability to contribute to the game. Then again, if The Telegraph is to be believed, maybe Frank Lampard would have kept him on even if he had a remaining substitution.

Abraham has played 70% of all minutes played by strikers this season. There is no way to dispute or argue his place in the team. But why Frank Lampard is so unwilling to use his other strikers, even in the face of an extremis situation, is a question that could haunt this team, Lampard’s tenure and Abraham’s career if anything happens to Abraham as a result of playing at less than full fitness.

At the most crass level, Saturday’s game against Leicester City is the worst possible time to risk Abraham: the transfer window will have shut hours prior. If Abraham went down with a prolonged injury at any other point in the season, Chelsea could have paid a double premium – desperation plus January – for a replacement, either a six-month stop-gap or permanent. But whoever they have on Saturday morning is the most they will have through the end of the season. If Lampard decides to play Abraham and the foreseeable-if-not-predictable occurs, then he will have brought about what is apparently his own nightmare scenario: playing a non-Abraham striker.

Someone working at Stamford Bridge does not have to look any further than Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N’Golo Kante to see exactly the scenario we are talking about. Or if their injuries from last year seem too far in the past, review the events of the last week with Marcus Rashford.

Olivier Giroud deserved a transfer this month after having played 282 minutes in the first half of the season. He has plenty to contribute to many top teams, and if he’s not right for Frank Lampard then Lampard should sign off on him leaving the club. But that opportunity is quickly vanishing.

If Lampard ends up with no choice but to play Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud because Abraham suffers a long-term injury, then another prophecy will self-fulfill: they will not be very good, not because they aren’t very good, but because they have barely played.

Chelsea’s staff is taking a massive gamble if they play Abraham on Saturday. They may think if they can just get through this one six-point game they will be on the winter break and everyone will have a chance to heal.

Those are odds no one should take, not after everything one can learn from an in-depth examination of sports science or a quick read through a few articles at The Telegraph or, well, right here.

If Abraham comes off with a more serious injury on Saturday, the two week break will not be enough to restore him to full health. The rest of the season may not be enough. He may need the summer to complete his rehab and return-to-play process, which would leave England in a worse spot than Chelsea: Southgate would be without three strikers, in part because Frank Lampard opted to ignore two of his three to the grave detriment of the third.