Liam Rosenior holds meeting with players on ‘hand washing’ as virus hits Chelsea camp ahead of ‘busy season’

Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens were both absent from the squad for Wednesday’s defeat to the Gunners and will be favored to play in next month’s second leg.

Rosenior, who was also without captain Reece James, Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo due to injury, admitted on Thursday that several players had come down with the virus and held a meeting about hand-washing.

“(Delap), like Jamie Gittens, is still recovering at home at this time,” Rosenior told reporters.

“Our club doctors are doing everything in their power to contain what appears to be a virus. Several members of our staff have also come down.

‘Great coach’ – Flick hints at Alonso’s ‘great future’ after leaving Madrid

Video credit: SNTV

“Today we talked with the players about the basics of hand washing, which is really important and we hope we can reduce the spread of infection.

“We are in a busy period and we need everyone to leave healthy and ready.”

Rosenior is trying to stabilize his side after a poor run of form, having won just three of their last 13 games, 11 of which were played under sacked coach Enzo Maresca.

The virus struck at the wrong time for Rosenior, who is preparing to lead Chelsea into a difficult match.

After a home league match against West Ham, Rosenior will face Mikel Arteta’s side again on February 3rd, with the aim of overturning their deficit in the first leg and progressing to the final at Wembley.

“We have to be the best team at the moment,” Rosenoir added.

“And I have to work on certain things because we don’t have training time. The team is recovering today and from a physical load standpoint, we probably have about half an hour tomorrow to work on training challenges and patterns.”

“But there are other things I can pursue in terms of who we are and what we stand for as a group. With the players we have here, we can make meaningful progress in a short period of time.”

–