Cesar Azpilicueta in action for Chelsea. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel has provided the latest team news on Chelsea ahead of their match against Lille in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie. They will be taking on the Ligue 1 champions at Stamford Bridge later today in their journey to retain the prestigious European title.
The Blues have five injury concerns in total coming into this fixture as setbacks have constantly plagued them throughout this campaign. However, they have been handed positive news on two fronts in Cesar Azpilicueta and Mason Mount, who have been suffering from groin and ankle issues respectively. However, Callum Hudson-Odoi will likely miss the game alongside Ben Chilwell and Reece James.
Speaking in the pre-match presser (h/t Chelsea official website), Tuchel revealed that Azpilicueta will be available for selection if he maintains his current fitness. However, he expressed that Hudson-Odoi missed training on Sunday, making him likely to be on the stands. As for Mount, the boss added that the midfielder could feature against the French side, but a start will be unlikely, having been on the sidelines for too long.
“Azpi looks much better than Callum. Callum did not train yesterday but Azpi trained and had no reaction so if it stays like this then he’s available for tomorrow. Mason did a very good individual session. He will try to come back to team training today but he was out maybe a little bit too long to start. Perhaps he is involved with the squad but he has not trained with the team yet.”
Mount further dropped an update regarding his injury on his Twitter handle yesterday. He was pictured in the team’s training sessions which comes as a massive boost for us. He could be in line to get some minutes later today, but a start would probably be unlikely to happen.
As for Azpi, we certainly hope he does not run into any issues or setbacks as his return is crucial considering James’ absence in the right wing-back slot. Then again, we have to wait and see if the Blues coach would decide to take it slow with him or not to avoid a relapse.
Hudson-Odoi, meanwhile, could have been a useful pair of legs as we try to manage gametime for our first-team players, given how we have the League Cup final against Liverpool this Sunday. But unfortunately, the talented winger seems to be out of the first-team picture as of now.
Let’s hope that all three can return to full fitness ahead of our Carabao Cup final against Jurgen Klopp’s men this weekend. Interestingly enough, James was claimed to make a return to training this week, so it remains to be seen if the young Englishman can be in contention for minutes in the next week or so.
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