Chelsea are currently sitting at the top of the Premier League table, having accumulated 26 points from 11 games.
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With the final international break of the calendar year done and dusted, Chelsea will be looking to maintain their supremacy at the top of the Premier League table. The Blues are currently sitting at the top of the table, having accumulated 26 points from 11 games. Next up is a trip to Leicester City for Chelsea on Saturday. Ahead of the trip to the East Midlands before the lunchtime King Power kick-off on Saturday, Thomas Tuchel spoke about the Chelsea players with injury concerns in his pre-match press conference.
Tuchel was asked about the availability of Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Mateo Kovacic, who were all missing prior to the pause for international football. “I can tell you Mateo and Romelu are out for the game in Leicester. Romelu is very close to team training, hopefully he will join the squad on Sunday. Let’s see how this works out. He is pushing hard and trying to come back as soon as possible. We will try on Sunday,” he informed.
“Mateo will take more days until he is ready to join team training. He will miss some more matches. Timo is in team training since yesterday. Let’s see. We have another training. Then we will decide if it makes sense if he’s maybe in the squad or on the bench. We can only decide after his second training later.”
Besides, the manager did not wish to commit to Lukaku making a return against Juventus or Manchester United next week. “It’s pure speculation and will not help. At the moment, we try hard for him to join team training on Sunday. If everything works out perfectly, he can maybe join the group on the bench, but there are a lot of ifs and I don’t want to put pressure on him. He is putting a lot of pressure on himself,” he added.
“We will not rush things. We will take things seriously as always, we will have talks with the doctor and the physios and the player, and if there is something to be decided it will be on Monday evening.”
Tuchel also provided updates on the fitness of other players in the squad. “Christian Pulisic feels fine,” he informed. “Thiago Silva will train today. He did not play [in Argentina on Tuesday evening] but he has some travel in his body, some time differences. Let’s see how this works out.
“Mason is back in training, looking hungry and fresh and in a good spirit, but we need to evaluate. He did training sessions this week and looks good, but we need to see if he can start or play 90 minutes.”
Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen’s contracts are up at the end of the season. Speaking about it, Tuchel said, “It’s pretty clear what we want, but you have to accept sometimes you can end up in situations where the things are in a bit of a delay and take their time, and of course there are with Toni and Andreas at the moment.”
“I’m very sure Toni feels how respected and what kind of an important role he plays in this club. He’s up for the toughest challenge, and the toughest challenge is Premier League football and to win titles. He’s a big part in a big club and I’m sure he’s aware of it.
“I’m calm because Toni is calm, and the situation inside is calm. Everyone is mature. I’m happy he plays how he plays because we need him on this kind of level. For Andreas, everybody wants the same thing.
“Hopefully and obviously I expect some good news in the next days. The situations are handled professionally from all sides, very calmly. During the process we can produce the performances we need, and that’s the most important thing.”
