Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech are doubts for Chelsea's clash with Southampton after missing training on Thursday, while Callum Hudson-Odoi has suffered a setback as he still tries to overcome his Achilles injury. The Chelsea star is set to be out for a matter of weeks rather than days.
Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell were absent from Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final defeat to Real Madrid on Tuesday, taking their place in the stands at Stamford Bridge instead. Ziyech and Lukaku were second-half introductions as the Blues tried to reduce the deficit following Karim Benzema's hat trick. The latter is suffering pain in his Achilles.
Tuchel is hopeful that the duo will be back in training on Friday afternoon, but they require tests to confirm the place in contention for the trip to St Mary's.
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Tuchel said: "No, I don't hope so. Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out, and we are a bit in doubt with Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech. They were not in training yesterday due to little problems, but we hope to have them in training, but we need a test and confirmation from training at three o'clock."
Hudson-Odoi has not featured since playing for 62 minutes against Luton Town, with that being the only time he has spent on the pitch since Chelsea's Club World Cup final win. Tuchel spoke highly of the young winger's progress so far this season and has admitted the injury leaves some frustration.
The German coach added: "It's not a matter of days at the moment, it's more a matter of weeks. It is [a setback]. He started in the Club World Cup final, got an assist, and was crucial on the left side, sometimes as a wing-back, most of the time as a winger. It was one of the seasons where he had the most playing time and was growing into it. Suddenly stopped his season, not his fault, of course."
