Conte blames Chelsea’s injury woes on hectic schedule

LONDON: Antonio Conte says the injury problems that threaten to derail Chelsea’s season have been caused by his side’s increased workload.

Conte’s team have lost their last two Premier League matches against Manchester City and Crystal Palace as the injury bug bites ahead of Roma’s visit to Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Wednesday.

France midfielder N’Golo Kante is sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring problem, while England midfielder Danny Drinkwater is a long-term absentee due to a calf injury.Spain striker Alvaro Morata missed the shock 2-1 defeat at Palace with a hamstring strain, while Nigeria wing-back Victor Moses limped off during Saturday’s game after suffering a hamstring problem.

“The problem is we are playing always the same players,” Conte told reporters on Tuesday.“And also we have players in our team who are not used to playing three games in a week. “When you have a lot of games, you need to rotate players. If this is not possible, I have to take risks.”