Thomas Tuchel reveals ‘long list’ of Chelsea injuries ahead of Luton clash

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel provided a concerning update on the state of his squad ahead of the FA Cup fifth round trip to Luton on Wednesday night.

The Blues endured 120 minutes of breathless action and a lengthy penalty shootout in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, eventually suffering defeat when substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga skied the decisive spot-kick.

Att1...

With his side set to be back in action three days later, Tuchel revealed that a number of his squad are suffering with fatigue and that there is a “long list” of players who are doubtful for Chelsea‘s clash with Luton at Kenilworth Road.

Defenders Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah are almost certainly on that list. Azpilicueta was forced off injured at Wembley, while Chalobah required stitches to his groin following a high challenge by Naby Keita.

The returning Reece James, who had been out since the end of December with a hamstring tear, came on for Azpilicueta on Sunday.

Speaking about James’ comeback and his injury concerns in his pre-match press conference, Tuchel said: “Brilliant form but now with a huge overload on his shoulders. We were told 20 minutes but he ended up playing 70 minutes in a final with extra tension against Liverpool.

“The situation was very good before the match because we had only Ben Chilwell out and the situation changed dramatically. We have a lot of players in physical overload and we have some injuries from the match. In the moment it is too much to comment about it, it would be a long list and we need to see.”

The German continued: “We had training today, the physios and doctors are still working with the players finding out and we can take the last decisions tomorrow morning when we have the departure to Luton and see who is ready to play because we want to be ready to play.

“We suffered, it is third time we play overtime and it was an intense match, this is where we are.”

Hakim Ziyech and Andreas Christensen both missed the EFL Cup final through a knock and minor Achilles injury respectively, and Tuchel confirmed the former will be absent on Wednesday too.

“Hakim is not available for tomorrow. Unfortunately he still feels uncomfortable. He was not in team training today,” he said.

For more from Krishan Davis, follow him on Twitter.

Source of the article

Author: XenBet