Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Thiago Silva is set to miss the game against Southampton, adding that Christian Pulisic is unlikely to travel.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference via video link, the Chelsea boss said he could not be completely sure about the condition of all the players ahead of the game.
But he was, however, sure there was no chance of Thiago Silva being involved yet.
“Thiago will be out for the game,” revealed Tuchel. “He’s not ready.”
The Brazilian has not featured since coming off early in our win at Tottenham at the start of the month. Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic was also a doubt after reporting a tight calf in training on Thursday.
Kai Havertz, who has missed the past four games, and Tammy Abraham, who injured his leg last time out against Newcastle, were considered likely to be available for selection.
“We have some issues with the calf of Pulisic,” added Tuchel.
“It’s nothing big, it just feels tight and a bit of a risk.
“Tammy feels very good. He is free for training today and, if things go well, he’s in the squad. Kai Havertz has been training as well and will join us at Southampton.’
“We are not concerned or worried but the medical department is on that. Now we have some little issues in the calf and he stopped training yesterday before it became an injury so I would not say that it is an injury at the moment. It’s risk management that relates to his history of having injuries so we do not want to enter in the same cycle.
“It’s sometimes like this and the main thing for Christian is to stay positive, keep his head up and be ready because he can have a big impact when he starts and he can have a big impact when he comes from the bench with his intensity.
“Chelsea bought Christian for a reason, for his quality and his potential so it’s our job to bring out the best in him. He proved in many weeks that he has the level to be a Chelsea regular player, to have a big impact at this club and it’s a challenge now to maintain the level and to keep improving.”
Photo Credit: ChelseaFC/Twitter