Chelsea take on Manchester United at Old Trafford this week and Thomas Tuchel should see the return of at least two first-team regulars.
The manager has confirmed that while Mateo Kovacic is still on the sidelines, Antonio Rudiger and Reece James will both be fit to play on Thursday. Tuchel is also hopeful regarding the fitness of Christensen who is going to return to training on Wednesday.
‘Kova will still be out, Ben Chilwell will be out, and Callum will still be out,’ Tuchel confirmed in his press conference.
‘Toni Rudiger was in training yesterday, the same for Reece James. Hopefully they can do the full training today and give us a green light. We have hopes they can be in the squad and play tomorrow.
‘It’s the same for Andreas. We will need another examination because he felt sick. He will come back to the training ground today.
‘Ross Barkley is sick as well and will not be in the squad.’
Trophies won by Antonio Rudiger at Chelsea. Edit:- @433_cfc pic.twitter.com/G2MRHnn5PU
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) April 25, 2022
Will Rudiger and Reece James both start for Chelsea?
Christensen might only be fit enough to start on the bench but the return of Rudiger and Reece James are massive positives for the Chelsea boss.
Man United might not be in the best of forms but with players like Ronaldo in their side, they have the ability to score multiple goals. Players like Malang Sarr and Chalaboh might not be capable at stopping CR7 or Bruno so Rudiger will slot start back into the three-man defensive line.
The German is going to leave the club at the end of this season but Tuchel has no other option but to keep using him until the final game of the season.
James will also occupy the right wing-back role which will also Apzi to play as the third centre-back and with Kovacic still injured, Kante and Jorginho are likely to pair up in central midfield.
Man United, themselves have several major injury concerns so this fitness update is a massive boost for Chelsea. They are very much the favourites to win on Thursday night and with Toni and James coming back into the side, keeping a clean sheet shouldn’t also be a problem for the London side.
