Thomas Tuchel is one of the most talented managers in all of Europe at the moment. (imago Images)
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by football.london, Thomas Tuchel ruled out key Chelsea duo through injury but welcomed back Chelsea ace Jorginho ahead of the game against Brentford.
The Blues are set to face the Bees in the Carabao Cup tie on Wednesday night as we look to progress to the semi-final of the competition. The West London club have been riddled with Covid-19 issues and injury concerns throughout the last four weeks.
Kai Havertz, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Romelu Lukaku, Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, and Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for the virus last week before Lewis Baker did the same this week. Trevoh Chalobah and Andreas Christensen have also since picked up injuries. Hakim Ziyech also went off the pitch on Sunday following a minor knock.
Jorginho was unavailable for the weekend clash against Wolves but has since returned. Tuchel provided a complete injury update before the match against Brentford.
“Nobody is back from there except Jorginho, who had a negative test. So it was a wrong positive, and he is back in training. Andreas Christensen is very doubtful through injury, and so is Trevoh Chalobah.”
The gaffer also revealed that N’Golo Kante would be rested for the Cup tie.
“How shall I put it? What we did with N’Golo Kante for 90 minutes was close to being irresponsible to let him play for 90 minutes against Wolverhampton. Will he be involved in the squad now against Brentford? Simply, no… We will now give him time to recover and prepare him for the Aston Villa match.”
It was no surprise that the German manager called up 11 academy youngsters to first-team training this week. Our senior squad has little to no depth anymore, let alone the capacity to field a fit starting XI. The likes of Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Mason Mount, and Reece James have been playing non-stop for the last month or so.
Thus, it would not be a surprise if Harvey Vale and Xavier Simons are handed a start. Malang Sarr could also look to lead the backline. Saul Niguez might also get to start the game but would need to replicate his performance from the second half against Wolves if he wants to stay on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes.
Ross Barkley, too, might get a runout. The quarter-final of one of the oldest competitions in the country is important but the health of the players is far greater right now. Following the Cup tie, the Blues shall be facing Aston Villa, Brighton, and Liverpool in the space of 10 days.
Thus, the problems are not expected to disappear anytime soon. At the same time, the solutions are minimal since the only thing we can do is have patience, at least with the first-team stars that tested positive. Tuchel could field a make-shift side against Brentford but if the youth is handed a chance, they could be motivated to produce an exciting game of football on Wednesday night.
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