Thomas Tuchel gives Chelsea injury update on Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante ahead of FA Cup final
Thomas Tuchel has issued a hopeful injury update on Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante ahead of the FA Cup final that will take place tomorrow. Chelsea will take on Liverpool at Wembley Stadium as they look to get one back for their loss in the Carabao Cup final.
The Blues would be hoping to add another trophy to their cabinet, but they will need to overcome the stern challenge from the Reds. However, the former will have to deal with several injury concerns in the cup final, with Tuchel ruling out Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell once again after being on the stands for a long time.
Speaking in the pre-match presser (h/t Football.London), the German boss has expressed that they will assess Kovacic’s situation and see whether he can feature tomorrow. The midfielder was on the receiving end of Daniel James’ horror tackle as they beat Leeds United 3-0 in the last fixture. The Blues ace was seen with large strapping on his ankle, so this latest news is a shocking one indeed.
“We have tried today, which is pretty surprising that we are even in the situation to try it, but Mateo wants to try it, and the medical department gave the green light to try it. The ligament is already torn from the last incident, so there is no new injury, but he is in heavy pain, and it’s heavily swollen, so we’re hoping time is maybe enough that he makes it. We will try it in two and a half hours in training, and we’ll know more about it.”
Should Chelsea play Kovacic and Kante?
The 48-year-old manager also gave an update on Kante, who had recently returned to training sessions. The central midfielder was out for the past few games, but he will also be evaluated like Kovacic before team selection. Tuchel admitted that it would be risky, but these are the occasions when they have to take such drastic measures.
“We will also try today with him. He is keen to make it, and hopefully, he makes it to training 100%. It is the moment to take risks.”
Potentially losing two of the key options in midfield is a tough pill to swallow, but the fans would hope to see them feature in some sort of way to help them to the title. However, Kovacic and Kante should only be used if they are fully cleared in the build-up to tomorrow’s fixture.
After all, we do not want them to suffer a relapse and worsen their situation, which would deal further blows to the West London side. Then again, it is understandable why Tuchel is open to taking risks with the FA Cup being on the line. This competition is the only option to salvage this season, looking at how things have turned out over the past few months.
Jorginho only returned to contention recently after being on the sidelines for a while, so that would be a sigh of relief. Then there is also Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has proven to be reliable over the past few weeks. Mason Mount is an option, but he has been more or less utilised as an attacker for a while, but that could change tomorrow.
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Saul Niguez is another route that Tuchel could go down into with the coach having given the Atletico Madrid loanee some minutes recently. Ross Barkley is also there, but he has been cast aside by the former PSG boss for quite some time now.
The midfield does raise some concerns for us so let’s wait and see whether we will receive more updates on Kovacic and Kante’s availability in the coming hours. We hope to see them at least be available on the bench, as starting them may not be a good idea under the current circumstances.