Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel details triple injury blow after Southampton penalties triumph
In pictures: Chelsea v Southampton
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Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he lost three of his Chelsea players to injury on Monday, leaving him short for the Carabao Cup last 16 clash with Southampton at Stamford Bridge. The Blues once again highlighted just why they are ready to compete on all fronts though as they dug out a 4-3 win on penalties after being held to a 1-1 draw by the Saints.
Kai Havertz put the Blues ahead on the stroke of half-time before Che Adams levelled things up just after the break.
Mason Mount’s spot-kick was saved by Fraser Forster before Theo Walcott and Will Smallbone missed for the visitors.
Marcos Alonso, Callum Hudson Odoi, Ben Chilwell and Reece James all made no mistake from 12-yards to book Chelsea’s place in the last eight.
Speaking after the game, Tuchel revealed that he was forced into a late rethink when his starting XI was concerned after losing three players to injury on the eve of the clash.
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Cesar Azpilicueta, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Andreas Christensen were all forced to drop out of the fold – although Tuchel is optimistic he will welcome at least his two defenders back for this weekend’s trip to Newcastle.
“We hope Azpi is back for the weekend,” Tuchel said. “He had a shoulder injury yesterday in training when he fell on it. It’s very painful but he’s Azpi and he’s a tough guy,’ said Tuchel after the match.
“Ruben felt after training some pain in his hip joint. Hopefully, we can handle it for Saturday.
“Andreas needed to recover from tooth surgery and he should be back in training on Thursday if there are no complications.”
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Chelsea are well-stocked at the back if Tuchel is unable to call upon his captain and the Dane.
Trevoh Chalobah continues to impress in defence while Malang Sarr has also caught the eye whenever he has featured this season.
The young duo are offering Chelsea a potential glimpse into the future as the Blues sweat on the futures of Antonio Rudiger and Christensen.
Both are close to entering the final six months of their contracts, meaning they will be free to negotiate with other clubs in January.
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As it stands, both look set to depart with Chelsea yet to final an agreement with either player.
Tuchel is not involved in the process of extending contracts but the German recently urged the Chelsea board to resolve Rudiger’s situation – while he also wants to keep Christensen.
“I hope that they will find the solutions,” he said. “It’s not only between coaches and players and what we wish for. At the moment it is between the club, the player and the agent.”
He later added: “We hope they find solutions and everything I can say, like you said, he has played excellently since a long time and is very consistent on a high level.
“He is very calm, focused. It is not a distraction for him. Everything is in place. Give the things the time they need, sometimes it is longer and sometimes it is fast. It is nothing new. No news from my side.”
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