Chelsea’s injury and Covid-19 woes appear to be worsening ahead of the Blues’ hectic festive period.
Thursday was a difficult day for the club in many ways, beginning with the Covid-19 crisis with four players testing positive ahead of the 1-1 draw with Everton.
On top of this, the key players missing due to the Omicron outbreak that has hit many other Premier League sides arguably affected the outcome of the game against Rafa Benitez’s strugglers.
Mason Mount opened the scoring on the night but four minutes later, defensive lapses at the back from an Anthony Gordon set-piece resulted in Jarrad Branthwaite netting the equaliser unmarked at the back post.
With Liverpool and Man City both winning, Chelsea’s title challenge is now hanging in the balance with gameweek 18 fast approaching during this congested schedule.
The next assignment is a clash with Wolves at Molineux on Sunday afternoon and Tuchel will be hoping that his side can respond from this latest set-back.
With that being said, football.london takes a look at the latest team news coming out of Stamford Bridge ahead of the game.
Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi
The three players tested positive for Covid-19 in the build-up to the Everton game, with each of them in line to play some part in this contest.
However, they were all forced to watch on from home after they returned positive Covid tests which saw a makeshift attack fielded against the Toffees.
Tuchel confirmed at his press conference ahead of the Everton game that Ben Chilwell, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku are the players to have tested positive, while it was initially feared Kai Havertz may also have Covid.
What Tuchel has said: “Kai feels unwell, he’s not positive yet but we’re waiting for test results and we decided to not bring him to the squad.
“We did some extra tests at 12 o’clock today to make sure who would arrive at lunch. From there we had to pick the team. Would it be the same line-up? I don’t know. The situation started yesterday with the players feeling unwell and not training.
“We had to confirm the flow tests and wait for the PCR results. The results are the results and the situation is the situation.
“We still have a strong squad and one we want to push forward, and that should be able to compete. Like always, we focus on the guys who are there.”
Expected return date: N/A
Kai Havertz
Thankfully, since the update on Thursday before the Everton game, manager Tuchel has confirmed what has been happening to Kai Havertz in his Wolves presser.
Initially, the German was ill with it being suspected that he was also Covid-19 positive but these worries have been squashed ahead of the weekend.
What Tuchel has said: “No more positive results at the moment.
“Of course, but the lottery starts again tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon. We’re happy in the moment that Kai [Havertz] has more than one negative result. So he’s back in training, and let’s see.”
(Image: (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images))
Expected return date: Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) – Sunday, December 19.
Jorginho
The Italian just hasn’t had a rest since the European Championship endeavours in the summer with Italy and that has now caught up with him.
Unfortunately, the injury crisis in midfield has caused the regista to play through pain on multiple occasions and it seems like he will not be able to do that anymore, as Tuchel confirmed on Friday afternoon.
What Tuchel has said: “If you want to have my very honest opinion, we have again Jorginho a doubt for Sunday, because he’s in pain.”
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Expected return date: N/A
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
The English midfielder suffered an injury scare in the first half against Everton.
Loftus-Cheek landed awkwardly on his ankle after contesting a long ball with an Everton player in the 20th minute.
Chelsea’s No. 12 did get back to his feet and play on but that seems to have not worked out too well as Tuchel listed him as a doubt alongside his midfield partner.
What Tuchel has said: “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.”
Expected return date: N/A
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Ben Chilwell
Chilwell looks set to be out for some time yet with the knee injury suffered in the Champions League victory against Juventus.
The defender won’t likely be seen until after the New Year as he continues his recovery, albeit having returned to the grass over the past few days.
Coupled onto this update, he was indeed one of the four players to have tested positive for Covid-19.
What Tuchel has said: “So it’s Mateo Kovacic and Ben Chilwell out at the moment.”
Expected return date: N/A