Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchels rejects Bayer Leverkusen job offer. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel has issued the latest injury update on Chelsea duo Antonio Rudiger and Mateo Kovacic ahead of the West Ham United clash. The Premier League fixture will take place on Sunday as his side will be looking to get over the disappointing result against Arsenal last matchday.
Coming into this game, the Blues have some injury concerns to deal with, which would be a headache for the boss. Kovacic has already been ruled out for about two weeks, which means that he was expected to be absent for Sunday’s match. As for Rudiger, Tuchel was more hopeful about his availability for this fixture after the defender missed the 4-2 defeat to the Gunners.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference (h/t Chelsea official website), the German coach has confirmed that Kovacic will be out for the West Ham clash as he was initially expected. However, in a blow to the boss and he has now revealed that Rudiger would also join the Croatian midfielder in the stands on Sunday.
“Both of them are not back for Sunday’s match, but also no other [new] injuries.”
It is good to know that we have no other injury concerns to deal with for Sunday’s league match. Unfortunately, we would be without two of our best performers of this season, whose presence we seriously missed against Mikel Arteta’s side in the previous game.
The update on Rudiger was the most impactful one as we were optimistic about his availability after Tuchel’s hopeful message after the defeat to the North Londoners. However, we have been dealt with a worst-case scenario, considering how we would be without the German defender for the second time in the running.
Our defence was in absolute shatters last time around as we missed the 29-year-old’s leadership presence at the back. It is time for the rest of the players to step up and show a reaction as we cannot lose the ground that we have made in the PL table so far.
Falling to engage in a top-four battle would be the last thing that we need at this point in the campaign. As such, we must do our best to get all three points against another strong side in the Hammers this weekend. That being said, we should expect a stern challenge as David Moyes’ side would probably be sensing an opportunity after our result against Arsenal.
We cannot afford to go on another slump at a crucial stage in the season, which means that Tuchel and his players must step up to face the dire situation. Let’s hope to see a positive outcome to matter when the team gets ready to battle the visitors at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
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