Romelu Lukaku came off the bench against Manchester United on Sunday for his first appearance in over a month.
Asked about his fitness today, Thomas Tuchel said his situation was pretty straightforward – he played at the weekend, he had no bad reaction, he has trained fine since. Tuchel said he is “ready to progress,” and now it’s just a question of easing him back in.
Thomas Tuchel on Romelu Lukaku:
"He came on and we continued to train. There is no reaction from his injured ankle. He is ready to progress, this is where he is."
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) November 30, 2021
He remained deliberately vague about whether the forward would start tomorrow night, but he have our doubts. After a decent spell out, Tuchel seems likely to play things cautiously and use the striker off the bench again – this time for more like 30 minutes.
That should warm him up nicely for a first full start come the weekend, when we take on Everton. It will be a welcome relief for a team which has failed to covert its chances in the last couple of games and has dropped points.
