Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel provided an all-important injury update for his side ahead of the London derby against West Ham United come Saturday.
Tuchel’s men have been upbeat in recent weeks but with a slender one-point lead at the summit over second-placed Manchester City, the pressure would be mounting on the manager for his side to remain consistent in this crunch period of the season.
The Blues have a stern test on their hands with West Ham punching much above their weight in this campaign as they sit inside the top-four in the Premier League standings and make a serious push for Champions League qualification.
Injury problems have been on the rise at Stamford Bridge and Tuchel sounded out a mixed update on that front while speaking to reporters in his pre-match press conference.
Reece James, Jorginho and Timo Werner were present in training for the west Londoners, according to the Blues gaffer, while the long-term absentee duo Mateo Kovacic and Ben Chilwell along with N’Golo Kante and Trevoh Chalobah were missing.
‘Jorginho, Timo Werner and Reece James are training and available. We did not train with Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo, Ben Chilwell and Trevoh Chalobah today, and they are all out.
‘It’s a lot of midfield players. We have missed Kova for many weeks, and also NG. Ben Chilwell is a long one. For Trevoh we need more examinations to see how bad the injury is.’
‘It’s important to have Reece and Jorgi back.’
‘Reece is the specialist on the side. Jorgi is the guy left from the three of him, Kova and NG on whose shoulders we put the central role over a long period.
‘I’m absolutely happy with the way Ruben has stepped in, but we are happy Jorgi is back in training.
‘We can’t wait to have Kova and NG to come back because they are a very important part of our team in a midfield role where we miss experience and leadership qualities.
‘But we will never complain, we are here to find solutions. If we miss players, other players will play and they have a contract here because they deserve it. We will have a strong team on the pitch tomorrow.’
