Thomas Tuchel: Chelsea duo N’Golo Kante and Trevoh Chalobah in contention to face Everton
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by football.london, Thomas Tuchel revealed that Chelsea duo N’Golo Kante and Trevoh Chalobah shall return from injury to face Everton.
The Blues are set to host the Toffees on Thursday night and will be looking to come away with a victory. The recent performances would not have instilled any confidence in the supporters, but Tuchel and co have suffered due to the injuries to their players.
However, the men in blue have been handed a boost going into the mid-week fixture. Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Kante and Chalobah will be in the squad tomorrow. Ben Chilwell and Mateo Kovacic are still out, but the latter has apparently come out of isolation.
“NG (Kante) will be back on the bench tomorrow. He did the last two training sessions. Trevoh Chalobah will also be back in the squad. So it is Mateo Kovacic and Ben Chilwell out at the moment. Mateo is released [from isolation] the day after tomorrow, I think. Then we have to see because he is out for seven/eight weeks with injury and Covid.”
Tuchel also revealed that Romelu Lukaku could feature against his old side. The Belgian ace is coming out of a difficult few weeks that have seen him struggle for fitness and form. Hopefully, he will be able to turn his fortune around soon.
“The player (Lukaku) will say he is fit, but maybe the fitness coaches will agree and disagree. Then comes the head coach, and maybe he disagrees… I think he can play 70 minutes, but we will see.”
Good news all around
It is high time Chelsea turn on the after-burners and go into third gear. Man City and Liverpool are not leaving any room for errors, and we need to match them every step of the way. The return of our stars is the first step towards achieving that goal.
Kante is absolutely fundamental to the way we function due to his box-to-box qualities and lung-bursting energy. We have only lost once with the Frenchman in our side this season, indicating the difference his presence makes to the results.
Tuchel has tried out a couple of defenders in the right centre-back role since Chalobah got injured. But none of them have excelled which shows that the Englishman has already become a crucial part of our backline.
Lukaku has had small cameos since his return from injury. He is yet to start a league game, and if Tuchel does believe he can play for 70 minutes, we need to see him provide his best for that period. There is no reason to aggravate his injury but if he is fit, Chelsea need to reap the dividends of it.
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Everton could be the perfect victims since the Belgian knows them well from his stellar four-season stint at the club. Rafael Benitez’s side are not in the best of forms and are there for the taking. The onus is on Tichel and co to seize the initiative.
