Team News: Tuchel confirms that first-team ace has tested positive for COVID-19

Thomas Tuchel confirms Andreas Christensen will miss Manchester City vs Chelsea clash after testing positive for COVID

According to football.london, Speaking in his pre-match conference ahead of the Manchester City clash on Saturday, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel provided a fitness update on his players and confirmed that defender Andreas Christensen will be ruled out of the game after returning a positive COVID test.

Apart from the fixture against City on the weekend, the Danish defender will also miss the trip to Brighton and Hove Albion. The Danish international will most likely be ruled out of the Blues’ home game against Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday as well.

The Chelsea manager also confirmed that there have not been any new injury concerns ahead of the Man City game. Trevoh Chalobah joins long-term absentees Ben Chilwell and Reece James on the sidelines due to his ongoing hamstring injury.

Tuchel received good news in Chelsea’s last fixture, seeing senior players Thiago Silva and N’golo Kante return to the squad after they both tested positive for COVID just a week earlier. The duo’s return will give the Blues enough ammo to compete against the best.

The Stamford Bridge side have been wrecked by injury and COVID concerns ever since the end of last year. Despite the setbacks, the team has done well to stay competitive. They can now close the gap to the top should they come away with all three points against Man City.

Christensen only recently stepped up his recovery from injury. The COVID result will come as a blow for the Dane as he looked to return into Tuchel’s plans for the remainder of the season.

The 25-year-old being ruled out of the game against City at the weekend definitely comes as a blow to us. We could have used the Danish international’s pace and physicality against Man City’s attack. With Chalobah remaining sidelined with an injury and Malang Sarr inexperienced in the Premier League, Christensen’s steady presence in defence will be missed.

Christensen’s absence may force Tuchel to pair Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva as his centre-back partnership in a back four instead of his preferred 3-man defence. We lined up similarly against Spurs in the Carabao Cup semi-final, with Christensen playing at centre-back.

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With the centre-back ruled out for the next few fixtures, we may see young Sarr given a chance to shine in the Premier League. The Frenchman has only made one league appearance so far this season and kept a clean sheet in his maiden outing.

Tuchel is sure to experiment and tinker with his defensive line in upcoming games due to Christensen’s omission, but he will also be glad to see Silva and Kante return to add some steel at the back.