Thomas Tuchel provides an injury update on key Chelsea star

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel provides an update on the injury of Antonio Rudiger

Speaking in the post-match press conference, as quoted by Football.London, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that the fitness issue of Antonio Rudiger is not a significant concern.

Antonio Rudiger missed Chelsea’s clash against Arsenal. However, his colleagues, the manager and fans must have missed him after seeing Andreas Christensen and César Azpilicueta committing huge mistakes. 

The Danish star’s error allowed Eddie Nketiah through on goal, and César Azpilicueta’s foul on Bukayo Saka was punished with a penalty. If anything, the skipper losing his head summed up the night.

Rudiger has been rock solid in Chelsea’s defence and has only missed three matches in the Premier League, including yesterday’s crunch clash. The German has performed leadership action, pushing the whole team to do better.

Rudiger’s presence on the pitch would certainly give more confidence to his colleagues in the backline. 

When asked about the injury issue in the post-match press conference, the Chelsea manager revealed the extent of the injury and suggested that he could make a speedy recovery before the West Ham match.      

“It is groin pain and a little minor injury. It is a matter of days, I hope, and the doctors told me that today is unfortunately too soon, but he will be close for the West Ham game.”

How important is Rudiger to the team?

This season, Antonio Rudiger has given a sensational spell, putting his body on the line and dictating the play from the back. It’s hard to find any errors in the German star’s performances. Apart from putting game-winning knocks, he holds his teammates responsible for their mistakes. 

Rudiger was seen shouting at N’Golo Kanté in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid after the French lost possession in a dangerous area of the pitch.

Yesterday, Chelsea made several mistakes, but the prominent ones were Christensen and Azpilicueta’s errors.

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Losing to Arsenal alone is a heavy price for our team, considering our rivalry with the Gunners. On top of that, with every loss, we are losing our advantage in the top-four race. 

Rudiger has been one of the best defenders globally, and with his presence on the pitch, these silly mistakes could have been avoided.  It is terrific news that Rudiger’s injury isn’t very concerning, and he could be back before the West Ham game.