Tammy Abraham leaps to defence of 'big bro' Chelsea teammate Antonio Rudiger after Frank Lampard axe

Tammy Abraham has played down reports of Chelsea stars causing rifts in the Blues camp which have left many supporters fuming following the sacking of Frank Lampard. 

Lampard was dismissed from his role on Monday following a poor run of form witch had left the Blues ninth in the table once the axe came down on his 18-month tenure.

Following Lampard’s sacking, reports emerged of Rudiger being a prominent source of disruption within the Chelsea ranks, ‘causing issues’ and allegedly ‘clashing’ with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta. 

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham (left) has leaped to the defence of team-mate Antonio Rudiger (right) who has come under fire from sections of Chelsea supporters

Club legend Frank Lampard’s dismissal has left large sections of the Chelsea fan-base furious

However Blues striker Abraham has denied of any splits in the camp involving the German defender, who he described as being like a big brother to the Chelsea squad.

‘Hearing some mad stuff about Antonio Rudier on social media today. Complete nonsense. Toni is a big bro to all of us,’ the striker posted on Twitter.

His sentiments were soon echoed by Chelsea striking legend Didier Drogba who backed Abraham’s stance after quote tweeting the England international.

‘Well said Son, THIS IS THE WAYYY!!! Stick together, get results and the fans will forgive you everything. Critics hurts but when you are together it makes tou (sic) stronger and better.’

Rudiger had fallen drastically down the pecking order under Lampard and was essentially the fifth choice centre-back, with many people expecting his departure from Stamford Bridge in the summer window.

Lampard left him out of match-day squads entirely on a number of occasions, instead preferring to partner new signing Thiago Silva with Kurt Zouma.

Amid reports of him falling out with Cesar Azpilicueta on numerous occasions, Rudiger’s phasing out of the first team came while Lampard’s handed graduate stars greater first team-opportunities. 

A section of Chelsea fans furious over Lampard’s exit appear to have apportioned some of the blame in the direction of Rudiger, and took to social media to leave hateful comments beneath a recent Instagram post upload made by the player.

Just over a week ago Rudiger had published an image of himself playing for Chelsea in the west London clash with Fulham, along with the caption: ‘Crucial derby victory with a clean sheet – we go again on Tuesday.’

Soon however comments with a sinister undertone began to pour in, with fans expressing their dissatisfaction with the German and urging him to leave the club.

One response read: ‘You don’t deserve to play for this club anymore,’ and was then ‘liked’ hundreds of times over as a sign of solidarity from others sharing the same opinion.

While others labelled Rudiger ‘guilty’ and ‘not good enough’ to play for Chelsea, with many more social media posts consisting of emojis of rats and snakes, insinuating Rudiger deceitfulness had provided a catalyst for Lampard’s exit.

Rudiger’s Instagram post from after Chelsea’s clash with Fulham has been flooded with abuse

Rudiger was restored to the starting XI for Lampard’s final two league games as boss – a narrow win at Fulham and then defeat at Leicester – but it proved too little, too late.

The man widely seen as Chelsea’s greatest ever player, was dismissed by owner Roman Abramovich despite a comfortable FA Cup victory over Luton Town at the weekend which saw Abraham net a hat-trick in a 3-1 triumph. 

On Tuesday night, Chelsea confirmed Lampard’s replacement by bringing in former Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel who was dismissed by the French side in December.

Although Lampard’s dismissal has led to questions over the futures of the Chelsea kids brought through by the club’s former midfielder,

Tuchel is thought to be ready to give the young stars such as Mason Mount and Reece James a chance to impress.