Chelsea dealt double blow as Lukaku, Werner injured
Thomas Tuchel faces major injury concerns over key attackers Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner after the pair limped off against Malmo on Wednesday night.
The Blues’ comprehensive win over the Swedes came at cost after Lukaku sustained an injury to his right ankle while fellow attacker Werner suffered a hamstring strain.
Both appear certain to miss Saturday’s clash against Norwich while Tuchel raised the prospect of the duo being unavailable for a prolonged period.
But despite the double injury blow, Tuchel has challenged the squad’s other forward players to take their opportunity in Lukaku and Werner’s absence.
‘So they will be out for some days – some matches,’ said Tuchel.
‘We’re normally in a good place injury wise and only Christian Pulisic has been out but we miss everybody.
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‘We have lots of games, lots of competitions. So now we have to deal and find solutions, no excuses accepted.
‘The two were in good shape and they have statistics on their side that they are dangerous and can create and score so now we have to find solutions.
‘The guys who have waited for a chance need to step up and prove that they can do the same thing.
‘Whoever it might be, the race is on and the guys who will start against Norwich in the next game have our trust.
‘Let’s stay positive. We have won games before without Romelu and Timo. We don’t want to have these problems too often but during the season you cannot hide from the fact that these things happen.’
Prior to the game Tuchel said Lukaku, who now hasn’t scored for seven Chelsea games, was suffering from mental fatigue.
But when asked whether he regretted starting the £97.5million man last night, Tuchel replied: ‘If I knew (he would get injured) before I would not have done it, but how could I know it?’
On his team’s convincing win, Tuchel added: ‘We played to huge intensity, we demanded this from us and we played an excellent game until it was 4-0. We are very happy.’
Meanwhile, Tuchel has confirmed Chelsea’s interest in Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
Haaland appears likely to leave the Bundesliga ahead of next summer due to a £64million release clause in his existing contract.
The planet’s biggest club all harbour hopes of signing the young striker – and Tuchel has revealed Chelsea will join the race.
‘We have talked about Haaland a couple of times also in the transfer window. It looked unrealistic and not possible to do,’ Tuchel revealed in an interview with SportBild.
‘Let us see what will happen the next weeks. Of course we talk regularly about him because he is a fantastic player and a profile at Dortmund, which is a big rival for us in the Champions League.’