Team News: Thomas Tuchel gives latest injury update on Chelsea for Leicester City clash
Thomas Tuchel has provided the latest injury update on the Chelsea squad ahead of their clash against Leicester City. The Premier League fixture will take place at Stamford Bridge tomorrow, which will be the second-last game of this season where his side will look to cement third place in the table.
The Blues would have to deal without Andreas Christensen, though, as he missed the recent FA Cup final with an illness. Tuchel has confirmed that in his pre-match presser (h/t Chelsea official website) and even conveyed how the defender could be out for the final game against Watford as well.
“With Andreas, I’m not sure yet if he’s going to be involved tomorrow or even at the weekend.”
Kai Havertz, meanwhile, only made it into individual training, which means that he is a huge doubt for the match against Leicester tomorrow. The German star has often deputised in the centre-forward role and is a key figure for us in big games.
“Kai will try in training today. He was in individual training yesterday rather than with the team so there’s still a big question mark over him for tomorrow.”
End the season on a high note!
The 48-year-old coach also ruled out Timo Werner for tomorrow’s fixture while mentioning there are question marks about Mateo Kovacic’s availability. Tuchel did say he does not expect to see Kovacic against Brendan Rodger’s side, having failed to make it into training yesterday.
“Timo is out with a hamstring problem. Kova had a big swollen ankle after the match and he did not train yesterday so it is unlikely he will be available tomorrow.”
Tuchel also gave the latest update on Ben Chilwell, who was pictured in training yesterday following the major injury he suffered in the first half of this campaign. The Englishman’s injury has been a blow for us this season and some may even say it derailed our push for the PL title.
“Yesterday Ben Chilwell was back in team training which was very good news and a big uplift for everyone. It was very good news to see him back in training but of course, he is out for the match. We will be very patient with him because it’s a big injury and he’s been out for a long time.”
Finally, Tuchel provided a time frame on Callum Hudon-Odoi and his return date, which will see him return only in the pre-season. Hudson-Odoi is currently training individually, and he is not expected to make it with his teammates before 2 July.
Since Havertz and Werner are likely to be absentees tomorrow, Romelu Lukaku looks set to start once again, and we could see his promising partnership with Christian Pulisic even further. Kovacic would certainly be missed as he has arguably been our best midfielder this term.
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Finally, it is also good to see that Hudson-Odoi and Chilwell are recovering smoothly so far. Absolute care must be given to their rehabilitation process as they have been out injured for quite a long time. Getting them back to full fitness would be crucial for our plans for the next season.
The last game of the season comes against a relegated Watford side. It is always going to help if the Blues have some of their best players available for these games. For some, it could be the last game they play in this famous Chelsea shirt, while for others, it could be a chance to impress Tuchel one last time before the summer window opens.