Homas Tuchel has confirmed that Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic will not feature against Arsenal tonight after being ruled out for two weeks.
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Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who replaced Kovacic in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final win over Crystal Palace, left alongside N’Golo Kante.
Club record signing Romelu Lukaku is also off to a rare start.
Kovacic limped off Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final win over Crystal Palace on Sunday and left Wembley in heavy ankle straps.
Further scans confirmed ligament damage, with the midfielder expected to be out for at least two weeks.
Ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League clash, Tuchel said: “Kova is out for the game with a ligament injury. Hopefully no more than two weeks.
“It’s long for us in terms of games. I hope it will be as short as possible. »
Tuchel has also confirmed that left-back Ben Chilwell will not play again this season, despite his accelerated recovery after knee ligament surgery.
The England international is back in light training but Chelsea are unwilling to risk a setback by delaying his return.
“(Will he) be on the pitch in a Premier League game? No,” Tuchel said. “I don’t think we’re going to rush. Ben will now be in transition to join academy training, to have team training, but not on a physical level like with us.
“Those will be his next steps in the next few weeks. Hopefully he can join our team at the end of the season but no games at this level.
Chelsea starting XI: mendy ; Christensen, Azpilicueta, Sarr; James, Kante, Loftus-Cheek, Alonso ; Mont, Lukaku, Werner
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