Chelsea star likely to miss first leg of Real Madrid UCL semi-final tie

Chelsea ace Mateo Kovacic may miss first leg vs Real Madrid in UCL semi-final

As reported by The Irish Independent, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has hinted that midfielder Mateo Kovacic may miss the upcoming game against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Chelsea face off against reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions. The first of the two legs is set to be played out in the coming week. And, Tuchel has now claimed that Kovacic, a former Real Madrid star, may not be fit to feature.

Kovacic has been sidelined with a hamstring problem that he picked up on the eve of our Champions League quarter-final second leg tie against FC Porto. Since then, he has gone to miss three matches, including the vital FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

Tuchel, speaking ahead of our Premier League clash against West Ham United, insisted that the Croatian international may not be ready in time to take on the Merengues next week.

“I think Madrid could be very close, but obviously he has not trained with the team. When should this happen? Tomorrow is the (West Ham) game, then we have two more days to prepare for Real Madrid for the semi-final of the Champions League.”

Kovacic’s absence hasn’t hurt the team much thanks to Jorginho stepping up in recent weeks alongside the ever-reliable N’Golo Kante. However, having every member fit and available in the business end of the season is very much a necessity.

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Kovacic, this season, has featured 39 times across all competitions for Chelsea and has registered two assists in the process. Hopefully, he is able to step up his recovery and become available for selection at the earliest possible.