Chelsea Still Struggling With Injury And COVID-19, Tuchel To Talk To Club Doctor And Physiotherapist

JAKARTA - Manager Thomas Tuchel said Chelsea were not yet out of trouble with a number of COVID-19 cases and injuries draining the squad ahead of Wednesday's Premier League home game against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Tuchel was forced to give a few extra minutes than he should have against Aston Villa on Sunday, as Romelu Lukaku and Callum Hudson-Odoi returned after missing their last three games due to COVID-19.

Midfielders Jorginho and N'Golo Kante have had injury problems while Mateo Kovacic has just recovered from COVID-19.

Kante came off in the 63rd minute of the game against Villa after visibly worsening the knee injury he sustained in the Champions League match against Juventus in November.

The German said on the club's website he would speak to the club's doctors and physiotherapists to find a solution for the game against Brighton, with injured midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek also suffering from COVID-19.

"If you talk about midfield, let's assume N'Golo is out (against Brighton), maybe Ruben is out, then one positive test is enough to make it all go down because then Kovacic will play another 90 minutes... and you risk injury," said Tuchel as quoted by Antara from Reuters.

"This is what we are doing at the moment. I can't see how we are getting out of the current COVID threat because it doesn't feel like it."

A total of 16 England's top-flight games have been postponed this month due to COVID-19 and injuries, with the most recent being Everton's home game against Newcastle United on Thursday.