FRANK Lampard will miss England's European Championship qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland after limping off in the second half of Chelsea's 2-0 victory against Stoke.
The England midfielder will undergo a hernia operation on Tuesday or Wednesday and is expected to be out for two weeks.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti informed England boss Fabio Capello of the injury immediately after the match at Stamford Bridge, in which Lampard was in discomfort during the second half.
Ancelotti said: "He has a problem where he had surgery 10 years ago.
"In the game he did not feel well and he will have surgery this week on either Tuesday or Wednesday. He will not be able to play for England."
It is a similar operation to one recently undergone by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.
"In one week Drogba was able to train," said Ancelotti. "It is a very easy surgery. He (Lampard) started to feel pain and he needs to do this. We have already spoken with the national team to explain the situation."
It could explain the tame penalty which Lampard missed after 10 minutes, side-footing the ball and allowing Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen to fall on it easily.
In the end a first-half goal from Florent Malouda and a second-half penalty from Drogba was the difference between the teams.
Even so Stoke could have made the champions pay for not taking their chances, notably when Glenn Whelan unleashed a thunderous 25-yard shot which ricocheted down from the underside of Petr Cech's crossbar and bounced to safety.
Chelsea, however, maintained their perfect start to the Barclays Premier League season and Ancelotti's side have now scored 14 goals and conceded none while Stoke are still searching for their first point of the season.
Ancelotti said: "I was happy because we won but we didn't have a good, high tempo. It was not our best performance.
"The tempo was not continuous but we didn't concede. We kept another clean sheet and stayed top of the table.
"We worked very hard this week. The players had a very strong week and so they were not so sharp."
Stoke manager Tony Pulis was pleased with his team's work-rate but accepted his side had been second best.
He said: "We had our moments but overall Chelsea were the better team.
"They have some great players and had numerous opportunities but I give credit to our lads for the work they put in."
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti informed England boss Fabio Capello of the injury immediately after the match at Stamford Bridge, in which Lampard was in discomfort during the second half.
Ancelotti said: "He has a problem where he had surgery 10 years ago.
"In the game he did not feel well and he will have surgery this week on either Tuesday or Wednesday. He will not be able to play for England."
It is a similar operation to one recently undergone by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.
"In one week Drogba was able to train," said Ancelotti. "It is a very easy surgery. He (Lampard) started to feel pain and he needs to do this. We have already spoken with the national team to explain the situation."
It could explain the tame penalty which Lampard missed after 10 minutes, side-footing the ball and allowing Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen to fall on it easily.
In the end a first-half goal from Florent Malouda and a second-half penalty from Drogba was the difference between the teams.
Even so Stoke could have made the champions pay for not taking their chances, notably when Glenn Whelan unleashed a thunderous 25-yard shot which ricocheted down from the underside of Petr Cech's crossbar and bounced to safety.
Chelsea, however, maintained their perfect start to the Barclays Premier League season and Ancelotti's side have now scored 14 goals and conceded none while Stoke are still searching for their first point of the season.
Ancelotti said: "I was happy because we won but we didn't have a good, high tempo. It was not our best performance.
"The tempo was not continuous but we didn't concede. We kept another clean sheet and stayed top of the table.
"We worked very hard this week. The players had a very strong week and so they were not so sharp."
Stoke manager Tony Pulis was pleased with his team's work-rate but accepted his side had been second best.
He said: "We had our moments but overall Chelsea were the better team.
"They have some great players and had numerous opportunities but I give credit to our lads for the work they put in."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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