Chelsea take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 this midweek and speaking ahead of the match, Thomas Tuchel has dropped some fairly positive injury updates.
Firstly, the manager made it clear that defender Thiago Silva will not be fit and ready for the European clash which is a bit of a setback for the Blues. But midfielder Kai Havertz along with Christian Pulisic are back in training and will travel with the squad on Monday.
‘This is a game that is certainly made for someone of Thiago’s quality but unfortunately he is not available,’ Tuchel, as quoted by the club’s official website.
‘He is training right now, while we are leaving shortly.
‘I’m very happy that both Kai and Christian are in the group. They trained with us earlier and had no complaints. They will travel with us and they are in the squad for tomorrow.’
Will both players start for Chelsea on Tuesday?
This great news for Tuchel since the manager will now have significant bench strength going into his maiden European venture with Chelsea.
But we doubt if either of the two returnees will get a chance to start for the Blues vs Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Tuchel has been using Mason Mount and Timo Werner as the link between the forward and the midfielders in the league matches and so far, the pair have done more than a decent job.
Mason Mount also found the back of the net during Chelsea 1-1 draw vs Southampton this weekend so there’s no way the manager will drop him to the bench.
This means both Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic will only be good enough to start on the bench and might come on as a second-half sub.
