Latest Chelsea team news: Four out with Covid-19, triple fitness boost as duo doubtful for Wolves clash
Chelsea received a mixture of both positive and negative team news for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Wolves at Molineux.
Thomas Tuchel’s side make the trip to the west Midlands for their final league game before Christmas but has many selection decisions to make ahead of the game.
Currently in third place, Chelsea have countless issues to deal with whilst also waiting for the ‘lottery’ Covid-19 results on Saturday afternoon, which Tuchel will hope all come back negative to avoid more team selection chaos.
They experienced a tiny outbreak ahead of the Everton draw on Thursday with four ruled out due to Covid-19, and he will be wanting better fortune this time round for the trip to Wolves.
He said: “They had a rough start to the season but recovered from there. They are very disciplined with a clear structure and they are very hard to break down. It is very hard to create chances so it is a big task for us. We will focus on it tomorrow (Saturday), have a meeting before training, do our training and be well prepared because we need to be well prepared. They have had some very good performances, a late goal vs Liverpool lost the match and they deserved to win against Brighton so it is a tough one.”
Here’s the latest Chelsea fitness/injury/team news ahead of Sunday’s encounter versus Wolves:
Covid-19 strikes quartet – Chilwell, Lukaku, Hudson-Odoi and Werner
Chelsea will be without Chilwell – who is also sidelined due to an ACL injury -, Lukaku, Hudson-Odoi and Werner after the four stars tested positive for Covid-19 this week.
They will be out until beyond Christmas which is a blow for Tuchel in terms of his attacking selection. Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz are Chelsea’s only available attacking players.
IMAGO / PA Images
Triple fitness boost – Kante, Kovacic and Havertz
Mateo Kovacic handed Tuchel a welcome boost after leaving self-isolation following a quarantine period due to testing positive last week. He returned to training on Friday and is pushing for a spot in the starting XI on Sunday.
N’Golo Kante could also start in the midfield after returning to the bench against Everton. Kai Havertz missed the midweek draw due to illness but was in training on Friday and is available for selection.
Doubtful duo – Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek
Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were confirmed by Tuchel to be doubts for Sunday after the pair both picked up pain injuries against the Toffees.
Tuchel said: “We have again Jorginho a doubt for Sunday, because he’s in pain. We have Ruben Loftus-Cheek a doubt, because he’s in pain. So do we know that they can travel with us tomorrow (Saturday)? No we don’t.”
IMAGO / Sportimage
Kante and Kovacic’s returns could be vital for the Blues following Tuchel admission that the duo may be forced into starting at Molineux.
The Chelsea head coach added: “I don’t know if it’s possible for them (Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek) to play on Sunday, so maybe we will start with N’Golo And Mateo.
“Would that be fair? No. Would that be possible? I don’t know, but maybe we do.”
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