Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte has expressed great surprise after his injured winger, Eden Hazard received a call up to the Belgium squad for forthcoming internationals but says he respects the decision.
He says everyone BUT Hazard will be fit for Sunday’s home tie with Everton.
“He is playing with the Under-23s to continue to improve”.
The 26-year-old, who has been linked with a move to Real Madrid this window, fractured his right ankle while on international duty.
The Italian passes up the opportunity to speak about potential transfer targets at other clubs and says there is also no more news on that old Diego Costa situation.
“My focus is only on the pitch. The club is working very hard… and we will see what happens at the end of the transfer market. We have to continue to work. If we stay with these players I am very happy.”
“Ronald Koeman has built a really strong team. This season they improved a lot and we must pay great attention on Sunday.
It’s important after a really good win over Tottenham to continue in this way.”
Conte also has a quick word on their Champions League group where they will face Atletico Madrid, Roma and Qarabag…
“It’s a tough group but when you play these types of competition you must be prepared to face strong teams. It’s very difficult to say if it’s a good group stage or a bad group stage. It’s important to do our best.”
Meanwhile, Everton boss, Koeman confirmed Davy Klaassen will miss Sunday’s game against Chelsea, while Idrissa Gueye and Sandro Ramirez remain a doubt.
The Toffees’ boss also revealed Everton are on the look-out for another goalscorer…
He said: “We’re still looking to bring a striker in. We need more competition. We have a lot of tough fixtures coming up.”
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