Thomas Tuchel reveals injury scare for Chelsea duo Reece James and Andreas Christensen following Brighton draw
Speaking in his post-match press conference, as quoted by the Evening Standard, Thomas Tuchel provided an injury update on Chelsea duo Reece James and Andreas Christensen after the 1-1 draw against Brighton.
The Stamford Bridge outfit had to share the spoils on the night as Graham Potter’s men found an equalizer in added time to take a point back to East Sussex. It was a pretty lackluster performance and the players looked understandably tired. The Blues have played a lot of football in the past five months, and it showed on the night.
Reece James was deployed in the left-back position due to the lack of reinforcements in the full-back area. Andreas Christensen was deputizing for Thiago Silva after the Brazilian picked up a knock in the victory against Aston Villa. But half an hour into the game, James had to come off after Tariq Lamptey caught him late.
Christensen, too, was substituted at half-time after feeling some distress in the dying embers of the first half. Tuchel provided an update on the duo after the game.
“Reece James has a hamstring injury and a back injury for Andreas Christensen. That is pretty much it.”
Tuchel also responded to questions about the availability of Timo Werner, who has been out with Covid-19.
“Not good, not good. Not in training.”
Chelsea had it coming
Until 10 days ago, the Blues had seven Covid-19 positive cases. However, we were forced into playing games, courtesy of which we had to overuse the same bunch of players. Although some players have now returned, the effects of playing every three days was eventually going to catch up to us.
James may have been caught late by Lamptey, but the Englishman is a tough nut and rarely stays down. However, the toll of playing continuously could be seen on his and every other Chelsea player’s face. Christensen also went down mid-way through the first half after feeling some discomfort in his back.
The defender was injured 10 days ago but was rushed back following a lack of alternatives. He is now out of action again, and one can only wonder when this circle will stop. Tuchel was understandably frustrated because he was forced into two changes and could only make one tactical substitution against the Seagulls.
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The title race is well and truly over if we are forced to play through such conditions. Perhaps the club would have been in a better position on the table if we even had one game postponed when several key players were out through Covid-19. But the Premier League has largely failed on addressing this issue, and the Blues are now dealing with its effects. It remains to be seen what kind of team the German boss fields against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
