Chelsea yet to put timescale on Alvaro Morata’s return from injury but are hopeful it is earlier than first feared

Morata pulled out of the Spain squad for the games against Albania and Israel, with the Spanish Federation revealing the 24-year-old had undergone an MRI scan that revealed a grade two injury.

Medical experts claim that a grade two hamstring injury can sideline a player for anywhere between four to six weeks, but Chelsea doctors believe they can get him back earlier than that after initially assessing Morata on Tuesday.

Chelsea’s medical staff will continue to work with Morata over the next couple of days after which his return date will become clearer, but the Spaniard is clearly feeling optimistic.

Morata tweeted a picture of himself in Chelsea a training kit with the message: “I have no time to lose! Working hard towards recovery! Crystal Palace.”

But that tweet was quickly deleted and the Palace game on October 14 could still come too quickly for Morata. Chelsea also play Roma twice in the Champions League during October before Manchester United visit Stamford Bridge on November 5, so head coach Antonio Conte will not want to take any unnecessary risks.

After watching Morata limp off in the 35th minute of the defeat to Manchester City, Conte admitted he took a gamble over the fitness of Chelsea’s record signing by starting him. But the Italian had also suggested the Spaniard’s injury was not serious.

Losing Morata for any length of time would be a considerable blow for Conte, as he once again demonstrated that he does not fully trust Michy Batshuayi by replacing his number nine with Willian against City.

Conte wanted to sign Fernando Llorente to act as a deputy to Morata, but Chelsea were beaten to his signature by Tottenham Hotspur.