Chelsea will take on Manchester City in the Champions League final next weekend and Edouard Mendy along with N’Golo Kante remain major doubts for this match.
The Blues did manage to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League despite their 1-2 loss to Aston Villa in their final match of the season but this game on Sunday saw keeper Edouard Mendy being taken off with a rib injury at half-time.
Midfielder N’Golo Kante was an absentee altogether since the midfielder has not yet recovered from his hamstring issue. And now one day after the Aston Villa game, manager Thomas Tuchel has put question marks over the availability of both these players for the final.
‘The situation has not changed with N’Golo in the sense we are still waiting, but it is looking good that he will return to training on Wednesday,’ confirmed Tuchel in his press meet.
‘I feel like maybe my tactic with him will change, and I will just put him into training on Wednesday! He is looking good and I hope he stays like that for Saturday. We will know more on Wednesday.
‘With Edou, the update is that we still have hope that he will join in with training on Wednesday with the group. He made a huge improvement with the management of pain from when the injury happened, which is good but of course we will need a further update on Wednesday. We hope to have him back.
‘If he is fit, then Edou will play. We will give him plenty of chance to prove his fitness on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. The race is on.
Edouard Mendy is replaced by Kepa at half time after appearing to injure himself in the first half.
Six days until the Champions League final. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Sx0fYHOcHq
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 23, 2021
‘If he cannot play, we will of course be sensible and not take the risk but we also know that we have strong competition from the guys behind and Kepa will take his place if he is not fit.’
This is a huge cause of concern for the Chelsea boss since both Edouard Mendy as well as Kante have been key figures in the side ever since Thomas Tuchel has taken over.
Kepa Arrizabalaga is a proper replacement in the keeper’s department but the Spaniard has failed to impress during his time at the club and we can’t rule out an unforced error from him during the final.
As far as Kante is concerned most pundits believe Tuchel will need the World Cup winner in the middle of the pitch if Chelsea are going to stop Manchester City from dominating the midfield area next weekend.
The Blues still have a couple of days to get Edouard Mendy and N’Golo Kante back to full fitness but if they are not available for selection then Chelsea will without a doubt go into the final as the major underdogs.
