Frank Lampard Uncertain About Extent of Hakim Ziyech Injury

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard lamented the 'disappointment' of seeing Hakim Ziyech limp off during the victory against Leeds United as he provided an update on the Morocco international's injury.

Ziyech was one of several new attacking talents to arrive at Stamford Bridge in the summer, joining from Ajax for a fee in the region of €40m. The 27-year-old missed Chelsea's first four Premier League games of the campaign after picking up an injury in a pre season friendly against Brighton.

However, in his subsequent appearances, Ziyech has already racked up three assists, the joint-most among the Chelsea squad in the top flight. The left-footed forward may be forced to spend more time on the sidelines after hobbling off half an hour into Chelsea's 3-1 win at home to Leeds.

Speaking after the game, Lampard provided a vague update on Ziyech's fitness, saying as quoted by football.london: "With Hakim it’s a hamstring injury which we will find out the severity of in the next couple of days. The disappointment is going into this busy period."

Having already qualified top of the group, Chelsea have one meaningless Champions League match remaining before the onslaught of Premier League fixtures customarily crammed into the following few weeks. Including their home clash with Krasnodar, Lampard's side have six more fixtures before the new year.

Yet, after spending more in the summer transfer window than any other side in Europe, Chelsea have made a substantial effort to bolster the squad and their victory against Leeds sent them to the top of the table, sparking talk of genuine title tilt from the west London outfit.

When asked whether fans and the players can start entertaining such lofty ambitions, Lampard delivered a cautious response, saying: "There’s certainly nothing wrong with the fans thinking that. Great to have them back, their input was huge, the noise huge. You can see how excited they are at the end that we are top of the league.

"My job and our job is to know that it’s a long season and the next question is how consistent can we be with this form, how much we can improve, because I believe there is a lot more we can do and there will be a lot of challenges ahead."