Chelsea and injuries are like a match made in heaven.
Blues manager Thomas Tuchel has been unlucky to lose key stars already at this early point of the campaign. The likes of N'Golo Kanté, Reece James, Mateo Kovacic and others have had to miss at least one of the opening six fixtures of the new 2022/23 season due to injury and illness woes. Thankfully, this bad luck didn't affect Tuchel's side at the weekend as they picked up a much-needed three points, albeit in controversial fashion against West Ham United in the Premier League.
However, ahead of the Champions League opener in Group E against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, Tuchel has a few concerns to contend with and he updated the media with a few unexpected situations that have crept up on the team upon them landing in the Croatian capital on Monday afternoon. With this in mind, football.london previews all the latest injury and non-related injury news ahead of this opening night of European football action.
READ MORE: Edouard Mendy, Aubameyang, Zakaria - Chelsea injury news and return dates ahead of Dinamo Zagreb
Thiago Silva
The defender was left behind in London due to Tuchel's concern that the air miles the defender has clocked up could have an impact on his future performances, therefore meaning he will not be in the squad for Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League opener.
What Tuchel said: "We decided with Thiago that he will have a break from the travelling and the stress after playing every minute so far in very intense matches. It was the moment to give him a break instead of putting him on the bench and having the travel issues. He takes care of his recovery."
Expected return date: Fulham (A), Saturday, September 10.
Edouard Mendy
It's fair to say the Senegalese hasn't had a good start to 2022/23. From making a terrible mistake against Leeds to looking suspect against West Ham United, the former Rennes man is someone who has lost his confidence a tad.
In the game on Saturday, he was caught wanting for both West Ham goals although he was given the benefit of the doubt by VAR for the second in injury time. Unfortunately for him, he was caught in the ribs by Jarrod Bowen, meaning he was an initial doubt when Tuchel spoke on the situation in his post-match press conference.
Fast forward three days and Chelsea's No. 1 has seemingly made a full recovery, if Tuchel's latest comments are anything to go by.
What Tuchel said: "He’s available. I did not feel anything. I didn’t hear the accusations. You know what happened to me when I spoke about the referee. It was pretty expensive. I told you after that I will not comment anymore. This is what happens right now. I don’t respond today because I can understand his frustration (David Moyes). We leave it from there."
Expected return date: Dinamo Zagreb (A), Tuesday, September 6.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The new recruit watched on from the stands as he saw his new team pick up maximum points in game week 6 of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign. It was revealed earlier last week that the 33-year-old had travelled to Milan to get his protective mask fitted.
Aubameyang has made it to Zagreb and was pictured on the training field with his well-fitted mask. Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Monday that both Deadline Day recruits could be in line for their Chelsea debuts in this one.
What Tuchel said: "If there will come an issue today we will not put him, of course. There was no issue yesterday. I hope there will not be an issue today. Is he ready to start? Of course. He cannot play 90 minutes. It’s on us to take a decision on how we manage the minutes. He needs minutes to get his full fitness and rhythm. It’s on us to find a solution if he comes from the bench or if he starts."
Expected return date: Dinamo Zagreb (A), Tuesday, September 6.
Denis Zakaria
Like Aubameyang, the Deadline Day loan recruit watched on from the stands. Unlike Aubameyang though, the Swiss international is unlikely to feature in this one whilst the club work on his work permit.
Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Zakaria has trained with his new teammates in Croatia.
What Tuchel said: "We had the opportunity to take everyone who was in training and available to Zagreb to do our last training. That includes Denis and Auba. He had a test with his mask, felt fine, trained normal. If everything goes well today, they will both be available."
Expected return date: Dinamo Zagreb (A), Tuesday, September 6.
N'Golo Kanté
Chelsea’s star midfielder continues to recover from the hamstring injury that he picked up during the game against Tottenham.
In his press conference ahead of West Ham, Tuchel said: "So in the moment, it's only N'Golo out. Everyone else is available."
Speaking on August 26, Tuchel discussed Kante's injury and said: "With N'Golo, we are talking about weeks. We are talking about four weeks plus."
Expected return date: Unknown
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