JAKARTA - Thomas Tuchel admitted that he had violated the advice of the medical team regarding Romelu Lukaku's condition. He did this to bring Chelsea to beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the English League Boxing Day match at Villa Park, Sunday local time.
Lukaku is still not at 100 per cent fitness after recovering from injury and having tested positive for COVID-19, but Tuchel made a gamble by bringing the Belgian forward early in the second half despite the advice of the medical team saying otherwise.
According to Tuchel he had consulted directly with Lukaku and the player said he was ready to play 45 minutes.
"I asked him to be honest about whether he could play 45 minutes. He said yes and I said, OK, try playing 45 minutes," Tuchel said after the match, quoted by Antara from the official Chelsea website.
"His important role is unquestionable. All the players are important, but Romelu is a key player, that's clear, but the last time he played since the start was in October and it wasn't because of his quality or we had doubts."
"He was just unlucky because of the injury and after recovering he was having a hard time finding fitness due to the COVID-19 so he had to rest in ten days," he added.
Tuchel's gamble paid off as it took Lukaku just four minutes to give Chelsea the lead over Villa and could finish the game when Jorginho sealed a 3-1 win with his second penalty in injury time.
Luk who's back! #AvlChe pic.twitter.com/nJVNLz2Bwz
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 26, 2021
"We fielded him for 45 minutes, and that was beyond the medical team's advice about him, but I think we have to take a risk and can play more attacking with his presence," said Tuchel.
"And of course I'm very happy because everything is going well. Now we have to see how his body reacts and the development of his adaptation," he added.
Lukaku has been sidelined for a month after being injured in the Champions League match against Malmo FF on October 21 and last week became one of the Chelsea players who tested positive for COVID-19.
Since being brought home from Inter Milan last summer, Lukaku has only made 17 appearances for Chelsea due to injury problems.
Tuchel certainly hopes Lukaku will return to his best condition soon considering Chelsea are scheduled to close 2021 by hosting Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday the day after tomorrow.
Chelsea are currently third in the table with 41 points from 19 games and six points behind leaders Manchester City.
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