The Blues are hoping to go back to winning ways against Leeds this weekend, but Thomas Tuchel is worried about the fitness of two of his biggest performers in the middle of the field.
The London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur ended in a highly entertaining and dramatic 2-2 tie last Saturday, but Thomas Tuchel’s team is now focused on getting back to winning ways in order to maintain their unbeaten start.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, and Raheem Sterling made their home debuts for the Blues against their visitors on Sunday, although Mateo Kovacic missed out and N’Golo Kante limped off due to injury, leaving Tuchel to worry about the pair’s fitness.
The present situation at Stamford Bridge and the anticipated return times for those who are injured are detailed below.
N’Golo Kante’s injury
N’Golo Kante, a French midfield powerhouse who has started Chelsea’s two Premier League games this season, put up another strong performance against Tottenham last weekend before being pulled off with five minutes remaining due to injury.
Kante needed on-field care after colliding with Yves Bissouma in the 84th minute, and Chelsea’s physio eventually had to remove him from the game after he became unable to continue.
Kante won’t be traveling to Elland Road this weekend to play Leeds because it has subsequently been confirmed that he could be out for up to a month with the hamstring injury. A further update on the midfielder is anticipated from Tuchel later this week, though.
Mateo Kovacic injury
Due to the knee problem, Kovacic did not make the squad for the visit of Spurs on August 14. Tuchel revealed that Kovacic had picked up a reaction while playing in his team’s opening weekend triumph away at Everton on August 6.
Kovacic, like Kante, is ruled out while receiving treatment and won’t be going to Leeds with the team on Sunday. In due course, Tuchel is likely to give a more current evaluation of the midfielder.
