Thomas Tuchel speaking at a press conference.
Speaking in an interview after the game, as quoted by Metro, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that both Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante suffered injuries during the game vs Aston Villa, and the German also explained the severity of both injuries.
N’Golo Kante suffered a knee injury during Chelsea’s Champions League clash against Juventus last month. The French midfielder spent several weeks on the sidelines and just returned last week. The absence of any quality backup for the 30-year-old pushed Thomas Tuchel to put him into the lineup against the Villans on his return. The move from the German manager backfired pretty badly.
Kante was substituted in the 63rd minute of the match and looked like he was struggling to continue playing. In the post-match press conference, Thomas Tuchel confirmed that the French star experienced severe pain in the same area of the knee that obliged him to be sidelined for several weeks.
“N’Golo is very painful in exactly the same spot where he had his injury versus Juventus.”
Thiago Silva was substituted in the 52nd minute. In the post-match press conference, Thomas Tuchel revealed that the Brazilian defender experienced hamstring problems. The German manager also suggested that the 37-year-old was removed before the situation turned grave.
“With Thiago, it was his hamstring. Hopefully, he got out before it became an injury, and from there, we try to continue and find a new squad and strong squad on Wednesday.”
Injury and Covid related concerns have wreaked havoc in the Chelsea team in the last few weeks. Currently, Thomas Tuchel is struggling to field his strongest possible team and the midfield area is one that is creating the most headaches.
Kai Havertz, N’Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovačić were all injured. Even though Kante and Kovačić returned to the field, it did not seem like they were ready to play the entire 90 minutes of the intense Premier League game. Thus, putting them in the game was a significant risk, and it seems Thomas Tuchel has had to pay the price for it.
Kovačić took the place of Kante and played the rest of the game. The former Real Madrid star has to be managed well because he is going to be playing a lot if Kante stays out for a long duration with his recent fitness issue. The inability of Saúl Ñíguez Ross Barkley to provide an impactful performance doesn’t make anything easier for us.
Chelsea’s defensive options are becoming weaker every passing matchday. Thiago Silva’s injury means Thomas Tuchel will be without his two main defenders for now as Andreas Christensen also remained sidelined for the game.
The January window is knocking on the door. Can we see a few signings to ease the pressure on the former PSG boss? That is something we will know for sure once we cross deadline day next month.
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