Lampard ruled out until Christmas as FA face huge bill over flight farce

13 November 2009 11:41
The FA have may to cough up almost £1million in compensation as Frank Lampard was ruled out until Christmas after their budget flight to Qatar. [LNB]The Chelsea midfielder spent seven hours on the cramped flight to the Middle East for Saturday's friendly with Brazil and is now out for around seven weeks with a thigh injury.[LNB] Plane stupid: Frank Lampard arrives in Doha with England yesterday[LNB] [LNB]Lampard later pulled up during a training session at Doha's Al Saad ground on Thursday and has been sent home to be assessed by Chelsea's medical staff. [LNB]Pain: Lampard faces seven weeks out[LNB]The Blues are reported to be furious and will now claim for the star's£151,000-a-week wages, according to The Sun. This could cost themaround £900,000.[LNB]The FA flew the England squad on a charter plane designed for shorterflights, with seats that barely reclined and no sign of the flat bedsusually reserved for such long journeys.[LNB]It is reported that several members of the squad complained of cramps and muscle pains after stepping of the plane. [LNB]Lampard did train in Doha but after warming up, he strained his left thigh during sprint runs. [LNB]A FA statement read: 'We can confirm Frank Lampard picked up an injury while training and will be returning home. There will be no further call-ups.'[LNB] Top man: Chelsea will badly miss Lampard's influence on the pitch[LNB]He is now set to be sidelined until the festive period and is expectedto miss a string of Barclays Premier League matches, including crunchclashes with Arsenal and Manchester City.[LNB]The move is a further blow for Chelsea, who have lost Jose Bosingwafor three months, while Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba are alsostruggling with injuries.[LNB] Meanwhile, Michael Essien, John MikelObi, Salomon Kalou and Drogba are all set to play in the Africa Cup ofNations during January.[LNB] Lampard to miss England v Brazil: Chelsea star could be out until 2010Rooney would walk into Brazil team, says England midfielder LampardCarlo Ancelotti: I'll rest England stars John Terry and Frank Lampard for CapelloEngland's Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and JT on list for World Player of YearLampard eyes century of caps as star reflects over a decade on England dutyCHELSEA FC

Source: Daily_Mail