Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said that Callum Hudson-Odoi is making ‘great progress’ and is ‘almost back to his normal self’ after testing positive for coronavirus.

Last Friday, the news broke that Hudson-Odoi had the virus and that he would be self-isolating for 14 days.

In line with the government’s requirements, this meant that the whole of Chelsea’s Cobham training ground was put on lockdown and given a deep clean.

  • “Sporting community need to act responsibly”

With staff starting to return to work, Lampard gave an update on the situation:

“I’m happy to say that in Callum’s case, he has made great progress and almost feels his usual self, which is obviously the news we all want to hear.

“I am of course aware that not everyone can or will recover from this virus, so I urge all of the football and sporting community to continue to act responsibly and look out for the health of others.

“I want to make it clear that I am no medical expert when it comes to challenging times such as these but please do take the time to call older relatives and vulnerable people who might be alone, or offer to drop round shopping if they can’t get out. Let’s make sure we all take care of each other.”

  • Fitness programmes for players

With there being no football matches and no training at Chelsea at the moment, it is crucial that the players remain active and stay fit.

To aid that, all members of the men’s first team squad have been sent an exercise bicycle for indoor use and nutritional plans, which they can use with tailored fitness programmes to keep up their levels of physical condition.

Lampard has said that finding things to do is crucial in this time of self-isolation.

“Social distancing can leave us feeling isolated, however we can continue to support each other even if that means doing it remotely.

“Of course we still don’t know when competitive football will restart, but it isn’t worth worrying about that too much at the moment. We all miss football, but right now it’s about acting responsibly and in the best interests of society.

“I am sure I wasn’t the only one who found myself in a strange place with no sport this weekend, but ultimately none of that matters when we consider the bigger picture.”