Chelsea boss Frank Lampard hails Billy Gilmour’s attitude after undergoing knee operation

Frank Lampard believes Billy Gilmour has the mental toughness to get back as quickly as possible after he was ruled out for up to four months following knee surgery.

The Scottish midfield starlet went under the knife in London yesterday morning after suffering a meniscus tear in his right knee in Tuesday’s 3-2 win at Crystal Palace.

The incident that could see Gilmour sidelined until November, an innocuous-looking challenge with Luka Milivojevic, happened in the 19th minute yet he battled on until being replaced in the 80th minute.

Frank Lampard has backed Billy Gilmour to bounce back after undergoing knee surgery

Gilmour could be out until November after suffering a torn meniscus in win over Crystal Palace

The Scot suffered the injury after 18 minutes but played on until the 80th minute of the game

That is an example of the trademark toughness Gilmour possesses which Lampard feels will be key during his recovery.

Lampard said: ‘His attitude will get him back as quickly as he can. He is young, has an incredible attitude, health and build to hopefully get over it as quickly as possible.

‘He has got a tight knit family, he is a good old Scottish lad and he’s tough as well so don’t be shocked or tricked by the baby face because there is a tough nature to him.’

Gilmour’s absence may re-open the door to Lampard’s starting XI for Jorginho who has yet to start a game since the season’s resumption and replaced the youngster at Palace.

However, Mateo Kovacic will make a timely return to Lampard’s squad for today’s trip to Sheffield United after missing the last two games with an Achilles injury.

Gilmour has impressed in his earlyappearances for Chelsea despite still being just 19

Tammy Abraham has triggered a 1-year contract extension after meeting performance clause

Meanwhile Tammy Abraham has triggered a one-year contract extension buying Chelsea more time to finalise a bigger, longer-term deal with the England striker.

Abraham had a clause in the five-year deal he signed in 2017, ahead of his loan spell at Swansea, which automatically extended his commitment for a further 12 months to 2023 once he hit various performance-related clauses.

The striker has scored 16 goals and made 40 appearances for Chelsea, activating the extension, which also comes with an increase to his £50,000-per-week wages.

The plan remains for Chelsea to agree a longer deal to reflect the performances and development of top scorer Abraham.

Long-running talks have yet to reach a successful conclusion though concerns about Abraham heading into the last year of his contract with his long-term future uncertain have been eased by his extension.