Chelsea take on Crystal Palace away from home on Saturday and their manager has confirmed that Mason Mount along with Reece James will miss this Premier League clash.
Mason Mount has failed to recover from his ankle injury and Thomas Tuchel has claimed that the England international is trying hard to be available for the League Cup final next weekend.
‘We will push for the League Cup final,’ Tuchel said in his press conference. ‘He has injured ligaments in the very first minutes of the [Club World Cup] final unfortunately.
‘The Champions League seems to be very, very close.’
WE’VE WON IT ALL! pic.twitter.com/ZkgDQkBOcu
— Mason Mount (@masonmount_10) February 12, 2022
Right-back Reece James will also be an absentee this weekend and he will take longer than Mason Mount in terms of getting back to full fitness.
The manager added: ‘We had a little setback because he caught the flu in the moment where he was very close to rejoining team training so this was a setback.
‘Of course, it’s too long for Reece and for all of us. We miss him a lot. I had the feeling right from the very start that we had to deal with a big injury and unfortunately my feeling was right.
‘You always have a risk with a very physical player like Reece and a big muscle injury, that you have to consider there is a delay with the comeback, which is where we are right now.
‘He’s still in individual training, progressing a lot and doing almost everything you can do in individual training and we’re waiting for him. The plan is that he rejoins the group next week.’
Thiago Silva on Reece James. pic.twitter.com/G3I7ZkNZXU
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) February 16, 2022
The injuries to Mason Mount and Reece James have come at a bad time since the Blues are back in the Champions League next week so a shortage of personnel will be a bit of a hindrance for Thomas Tuchel.
Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek though has recovered from his Achilles injury and will be available for selection for the Crystal Palace vs Chelsea game.
The manager updated: ‘He had problems at his Achilles, a separate issue from before, but it was very painful with some inflammation. It was not a big injury but painful, which held him back from being on the pitch.
‘Since we got back from Abu Dhabi he’s been very strong and I can see that he feels free. He had an excellent training week and is available for the game.’
The fact that Mason Mount is still out injured means Loftus-Cheek will move up the pecking order on Saturday but he is not going to get a start with players like Ziyech and Kai Havertz available.
