Manager Thomas Tuchel has said Chelsea are yet to come out of the woods with a number of COVID-19 cases and team-draining injuries ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League home game against Brighton & Hove Albion. Tuchel was forced to give some players more minutes https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-ava-che-report-idUKKBN2J6050 than he should have against Aston Villa on Sunday, as Romelu Lukaku and Callum Hudson-Odoi returned after missing their last three games due to COVID-19.
Midfielders Jorginho and N’Golo Kante have struggled with injuries while Mateo Kovacic recently recovered from COVID-19. Kante came out in the 63rd minute of Villa clash after appearing to worsen a knee injury he sustained during their Champions League clash against Juventus in November.
The German told the club’s website https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/12/28/tuchel-on-latest-covid-impact- that he will speak to medics and physiotherapists about the club to find solutions for the Brighton Match, with injured midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek also suffering from COVID-19. “If you’re talking about the central midfielder, suppose N’Golo is out (against Brighton), maybe Ruben is out, so a positive test is enough for the thing to fall apart because then Kovacic will play 90 minutes again … and you risk injury, ”Tuchel said.
“That’s what we are doing right now. I don’t see how we got out of the COVID threat at the moment because it doesn’t look like it.” As many as 16 top English games have been postponed this month due to COVID-19 and injuries, with Everton’s home game against Newcastle United at the latest on Thursday.
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