Chelsea have dropped the biggest hint yet that star duo Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku could be starting this weekend in the Premier League against Manchester United, amid ongoing problems for the pair over the last few weeks.
The pair have suffered recently due to different problems that have thwarted their Blues campaigns to date.
For Mount, his Wisdom tooth infection has caused multiple problems as per The Athletic, which has resulted in weight loss which may have contributed to poor showings against Leicester and Juventus, respectively, for the attacking midfielder.
Club record signing Lukaku has yet to light up the Premier League this season, despite a promising start to the campaign after his £97.5million arrival from Inter Milan in the summer and injuries have also contributed to this.
In the home Champions League group game against Malmo back in October, the Belgian suffered an ankle injury which has kept him out until now.
He was included on the bench for the game against the Old Lady on Tuesday night which just demonstrates how close he is to getting back into the thick of things once again.
“Not sure yet. We have one more training,” Tuchel revealed in his pre-Juventus press conference on Monday when quizzed about his striker’s potential return in this game.
“Yesterday he was in team training and seemed ok, let’s see about the reaction. He has right now in the next minutes an appointment with the doctors and physios to see about the reaction and the next training.
(Image: (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images))
“We have the chance to bring 20 players to the squad so there is a chance he is in the squad for the last minutes. This is the maximum we can get out of the situation right now.”
Although Lukaku was an unused substitute on Tuesday night, the main positive from the night from his perspective was in regards to what he was spotted doing after the final whistle- running freely once again.
He will be eager to prove a point this weekend at a club where he endured a turbulent time during his stay in Manchester and he will likely be given the chance to do just this if Chelsea FC’s official social media is anything to go by.
CHELSEA NEWS: All the latest from Stamford Bridge as it happens here.
Lukaku, alongside the likes of Mount, Jorginho and Cesar Azpilicueta, were filmed walking onto the Cobham training pitch on Friday morning in rather cold conditions.
Therefore, if this is anything to go by, there is a chance that all four will be involved in some capacity against the Red Devils.
United will be rejuvenated due to Ralph Rangnick’s expected hiring as interim boss, which is set to be confirmed ahead of Sunday.
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On top of the so-called manager bounce and positivity that the opposition side will have ahead of the game, that could be considered a free hit from their perspective, Chelsea’s injury woes have ramped up and therefore, this may not be as straightforward of a game as many are predicting.
We will be hearing from Thomas Tuchel on football.london today (Friday) in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Super Sunday fixture.