Double blow for Chelsea: Two players out with injuries
Football is in short supply between the winter holidays, with the vast majority of clubs taking a holiday break. The Premier League is not one of them, so all eyes are on them, from the biggest news outlets to the top outlet for sports betting Mozambique has to offer. Now, readers and punters from around the world are worried to read the latest updates about the Blues: Tuchel has confirmed that two of the team’s players were sidelined after the team’s clash with Villa in the weekend.
A good match with Villa
Last weekend’s match with Aston Villa was a much-needed change for Chelsea that managed to win only one of its four previous matches – two of them ended with draws, and one with a loss. The weekend’s 3-1 victory was most welcome.
Injury upon injury
Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva got to rest in the midweek to be fully prepared for Chelsea’s Boxing Day match. He started in the game but only played for 53 minutes before being substituted – his hamstring, apparently, wasn’t up to the task.
French international N’Golo Kanté also had to be replaced around the same time. His injury seems to be on the more serious side – Tuchel seems to be worried about his state.
“N’Golo is very painful on exactly the same spot where he had his injury versus Juventus,” Tuchel was cited by Chelsea’s website. “Thiago came off with hamstrings, hopefully, he went out before it became an injury. From there we try to continue and find a new squad and strong squad on Wednesday.”
Taking a risk
Tuchel took a bit of a risk for the Boxing Day match against Aston Villa by bringing Lukaku in for the game. Both the Belgian striker and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi were forced to isolate for ten days due to COVID previously, and have just recently returned to training with the team. Tuchel previously avoided speculating on their ability to play in Sunday’s game – but he ultimately did use them, which has proven a good decision.
Lukaku scored a goal mere minutes after stepping on the turf in the second half, helping Chelsea take the lead – and he was assisted by Hudson-Odoi in the process.
Tuchel pointed out that, while all Chelsea players are important, Lukaku is one of the key players of the team, so he was a bit concerned about him at first. Lukaku hasn’t started with Chelsea since October because he went from injury to isolation in an unusual streak of bad luck. In last weekend’s match, he played more than what the medical staff of the club recommended – it was a good decision, ultimately. Now, it remains to be seen where he goes from here.
