Thomas Tuchel has just taken his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s match against Leicester this weekend, and as always the team’s injury news was top of his agenda.
Asked about the one player who is out, Tuchel was pretty downcast. He said that “we’re talking about weeks. Four weeks plus” for N’Golo Kante, who limped off against Tottenham in the final moments of the 2-2 draw.
Tuchel on Kante injury: "We're talking about weeks. Four weeks plus." #CFC
— Adam Newson (@AdamNewson) August 26, 2022
Thomas Tuchel on Mateo Kovacic:
"He's back in group. Everybody else is back in training [except N'Golo Kante]. Kova is ready to play some 20 minutes."
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) August 26, 2022
There’s better news about Mateo Kovacic, Kante’s fellow midfielder. We saw him in training with the group this week, but Tuchel warned fans to be cautious – there’s no way the Croatian starts against Leicester tomorrow, and in fact it will likely be just a 20 minute cameo for him.
That leaves us short in midfield – and it’s hard to know if the Conor Gallagher – Jorginho midfield from last week will be repeated after the disastrous result against Leeds.
The sooner Kova – and Kante – are back, the better.
I am interested