Edouard Mendy injured his ribs against Aston Villa. (imago Images)
Speaking in a press conference (h/t Metro), Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said he was hopeful that Edouard Mendy would return from injury on Wednesday ahead of their Champions League final this weekend.
Chelsea took on Aston Villa on Sunday knowing that a positive result was necessary in order to finish in the top 4. But things went from bad to worse when Mendy collided with the post just before time as he attempted to save a shot.
Bertrand Traore ended up scoring against his former club while Mendy did not recover from the injury. He was then replaced in the second half by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
After the match, Tuchel expressed his concerns over Mendy’s rib injury. But in the most recent update given by the German, he stated that Mendy’s issue does not look very serious.
“The update is we still have hope he joins training on Wednesday and he joins the group. He made huge improvement with the management of pain. So we need a further update on Wednesday but we hope to have him back.”
If the Senegalese stopper, who has had an impressive season so far, does not return in time for the UCL final against Manchester City on Saturday, then the Blues would have to field Kepa Arrizabalaga.
While the Spanish goalkeeper has had his critics, Tuchel believes the former Athletic Bilbao can do the job if it comes down to that.
“Edou will play if he’s fit. If he’s not fit on Wednesday we will try on Thursday and Friday. At the same time, we have trust if he cannot make it. We have a strong guy in Kepa who can take his place. So now the race is on. The images don’t show the injury is too serious so we are positive. But every hour counts now and every day counts.”
Mendy was signed last summer in a bid to displace Kepa as the club’s No1. While he was signed by Frank Lampard, he won the trust of the newly-appointed Tuchel and kept his place in the starting XI. It is clear that the former Rennes man will start if he is fit.
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