Romelu Lukaku, N’Golo Kane, Hakim Ziyech – Chelsea team news and injury updates ahead of Arsenal



It’s been an exceptional start to the season for Chelsea but one that supporters will hope can keep getting better with a win against Arsenal at the weekend.

The Blues have already lifted the UEFA Super Cup but at a cost that left Thomas Tuchel unable to select from a full array of players at Stamford Bridge.

Nevertheless, Chelsea came away 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and Trevoh Chalobah. The following day, Tuchel oversaw those players still building the fitness come away 13-0 winners against Weymouth. The likes of Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Reece James were among the players who had lengthy summers thanks to EURO 2020 and the Copa America.

With that said, the Blues got Monday off and they’ll be hoping for more fresh legs for the visit to the Emirates.

So what is the latest injury news within the camp? We take a look below.

Romelu Lukaku

Chelsea’s record signing could play his part against the Gunners as his quarantine finally came to an end.

Thomas Tuchel said: “We expect Romelu to finish quarantine in time to be able to join team training on Tuesday; Monday is our day off. So we will try to prepare him to play against Arsenal and hopefully he can be on the pitch.”

Whether Lukaku will have integrated enough to make a start against Arsenal remains to be seen but he will be licking his lips after the north London side’s outing against Brentford.

N’Golo Kante

The midfield dynamo pulled up holding his ankle ahead of the UEFA Super Cup clash with Villarreal, but was able to help Chelsea to glory. The 30-year-old was kept in reserve at Stamford Bridge at the weekend however.

His absence is always sorely felt, and with centre midfield being a position in which the Blues don’t have the most depth, his return will be keenly awaited.

“N’Golo felt yesterday (Friday) discomfort in his ankle,” Tuchel explained after Chelsea’s victory in their Premier League opener.

“He felt it in the warm-up to the Super Cup match against Villarreal and he played a little bit with pain, overcame it. But yesterday he felt it again and we decided to take responsibility and take him out so as not to take any risks at the beginning of the season.

“N’Golo should be back in the middle of the week and be ready for Arsenal.”

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

The perennial loan star just hasn’t been able to catch a break in his Chelsea career and his absence from Tuchel’s squad at the weekend was noticeable following Kante’s absence. The former Fulham loanee recorded a positive Covid-19 result and has had to follow protocol as a result.

Tuchel noted: “With Ruben the rumour is right; he had a positive test result on Thursday or Friday. He is in isolation and following the protocol.”

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Hakim Ziyech

The Moroccan looked on his way to a lightning start to 2021/22 following impressive pre-season outings and coolly taken goal against Villarreal to give Chelsea the lead in the Super Cup.

An innocuous challenge and fall took Ziyech out of the game, cradling his arm before being seen on the substitute’s bench in a sling. The Blues are treating the shoulder injury cautiously but fortunately the ex-Ajax wizard does not need to go under the knife.

Tuchel said: “The decision is made, it will be treated conservatively. In the moment the situation is like this that we don’t need the surgery, which is very, very good news for this kind of problem. We hope it continues like this and he can be back on the pitch in the next two weeks. We cannot promise but this is what we hope.”





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