Chelsea have been without Mateo Kovacic for some time now but the player is back to full fitness and will be available for selection this weekend.
Mateo Kovacic had picked up a hamstring injury before the second leg of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Porto last month and as per the reports, he was expected to be out until the UCL final.
But manager Thomas Tuchel on Friday has announced that the midfielder is fully fit and he should be in the matchday squad when Chelsea take on Leicester City at Wembley.
‘Kova is with us again,’ Tuchel said in his pre-match press conference.
‘It’s huge. Mateo has everything we need in midfield. He has experience, power, acceleration, deceleration, he can dribble with the ball and beat players, he is fast and has physical ability.
‘You could see when we missed Mateo and N’Golo in the same match we lacked quality and energy and experience. Billy [Gilmour] did a huge job in both games, but it’s still not fair to compare him to these players because they have more experience and they are a step ahead in their development.
‘It’s what we need in the key moments of the season at the end of the season. It’s big news for us Kova is back. He has a huge impact in the dressing room also and is a very positive guy.’
Apart from Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante is also going to be back in contention after he was rested in midweek due to fears of an achilles injury.
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The manager added: ‘We took the decision together, N’Golo, me and the medical team, to give him the Arsenal match to rest and have treatment to the right Achilles, I think. It was pain management, not a huge injury, nothing to be afraid of getting bigger. It was just there and it was a bit annoying.
‘He did all training sessions yesterday and today, no complaints. He will start tomorrow and very likely he will finish the game for us.’
The return of Mateo Kovacic is a huge selection boost for manager Thomas Tuchel but it’s not a great sign for Jorginho since both Kante and Kovacic coming back into the fold means the Italian might have to make way.
Jorginho’s error handed Arsenal a precious goal vs Chelsea during their midweek loss and with Mateo Kovacic back, Tuchel is sure to include him into the starting line-up, in place of Jorginho.
