Thomas Tuchel gives latest Chelsea team news ahead of Tottenham Hotspur clash in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. (GETTY Images)
Thomas Tuchel has given an update on the latest injury and Covid news regarding the Chelsea squad ahead of their match against Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals. His team has earned a comfortable 2-0 lead due to their performance in the first leg, and they would hope to repeat that this time as well.
Reece James and Ben Chilwell are long term absentees and are expected to be out on the sidelines. Trevoh Chalobah is confirmed to miss the game due to the hamstring strain that he picked up. Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante contracted Covid ahead of the first leg tie, so a decision on their availability will be down to the wire.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference (h/t Football.London), Tuchel admitted that they have to wait till the deadline to take a stance on the availability of the Blues duo. However, he did add that the chances of them making it for the training sessions are less likely looking at the current situation.
“Right now I would say we have the same guys as we had in the cup game. No news and no new injuries which is good news for us and we have to wait for last minute decision on Thiago and N’Golo. I have to wait if they are in training and then let’s see how they respond. If we do it, it’s a gamble and I’m not sure if we do it, how much responsibility we can take there. At the moment I’m not even sure if they come to training.”
Silva and Kante have been key players for us this season and, their absence would definitely be felt within the squad. However, we do have a healthy number of players in our midfield with fringe options like Saul Niguez performing at his best at the moment.
The centre-back situation is slightly concerning since two of our options are in contention to be out for the cup tie tomorrow. The injury to James forces us to use Cesar Azpilicueta as a right wing-back, meaning we are walking on a tightrope because of it.
Malang Sarr featured against Spurs last time and had completed the ninety minutes against Chesterfield in the previous fixture. He has largely been sidelined by the German boss, but he could be in line to earn more minutes in these times. He has stepped up to handle the task at hand and should continue doing so moving forward.
While we have a lead to defend on our hands, we cannot afford to take it for granted. Giving them a way back is the last thing we would want. It is imperative that we kill the tie as soon a spossible.
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