Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel sounded out confirmation of Mateo Kovacic’s return to training ahead of the weekend clash away at Wolves.
The Croatia international had been on the sidelines of late for an extended period with an injury that was followed up by a positive test for COVID-19 which added to the curtailment of his game time for the Blues.
Adding to the woes for the gaffer Tuchel is a knock for the England international Ruben Loftus-Cheek who has had to deputise for the recent injury absentees in the middle of the pitch.
Moreover, maestro Jorginho is a doubt for Chelsea’s upcoming visit to the Midlands on Sunday, said Tuchel, with the Italian midfielder in ‘pain’.
In his pre-match press conference, Tuchel remained coy over the possibility of handing starting roles to Kovacic and N’Golo Kante with the latter also a recent returnee to the fold from his own troubles on the injury front.
“Mateo had his first day in training, today. [But] we have again Jorginho a doubt for Sunday, because he’s in pain. We have Ruben Loftus-Cheek a doubt, because he’s in pain. So do we know that they can travel with us tomorrow? No we don’t.
“I don’t know if it’s possible for them to play on Sunday, so maybe we will start with N’Golo And Mateo. Would that be fair? No. Would that be possible? I don’t know, but maybe we do.
“[We] need to find a balance now because we put everything on Jorginho’s shoulders and on his responsibility. Ruben got injured yesterday, so let’s see. Maybe we are forced to do the crazy stuff that we wouldn’t normally do. But what’s normal? We miss key players and we find solutions.”
