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

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. 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. Plane stupid: Frank Lampard arrives in Doha with England yesterday 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. Pain: Lampard faces seven weeks outThe 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.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.It is reported that several members of the squad complained of cramps and muscle pains after stepping of the plane. Lampard did train in Doha but after warming up, he strained his left thigh during sprint runs. 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.' Top man: Chelsea will badly miss Lampard's influence on the pitchHe 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.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. Meanwhile, Michael Essien, John MikelObi, Salomon Kalou and Drogba are all set to play in the Africa Cup ofNations during January. 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