Chelsea forced to END their pre-season camp in Ireland early
Chelsea forced to END their pre-season camp in Ireland hours after ‘possible positive’ Covid case leads to cancellation of friendly as Thomas Tuchel suffers major disruption to plans ahead of new campaign
- Chelsea will return to London after bringing an end to their camp in Ireland
- They had planned to spend another four days there as pre-season preparation
- But a possible positive Covid case in the squad has forced a change of plans
- The Blues’ next pre-season fixture is away to Bournemouth on Tuesday night
Chelsea have been forced to bring a premature end to their pre-season camp in the Republic of Ireland after a possible positive Covid-19 test from one of their players.
The planned behind-closed-doors friendly on Thursday night against Drogheda United was cancelled at the last minute, with the Blues playing an in-house match instead.
That game finished 1-1 between the two sets of Chelsea players, with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Armando Broja scoring the goals.
Chelsea have been forced to bring a premature end to their pre-season camp in Ireland
Thomas Tuchel will now return to London after a possible positive Covid case in the squad
Following that match, in which the player in question played no part and is isolating away from the group, the decision has now been made to return to London and end the camp four days early.
A club statement said: ‘With the cancellation of last night‘s friendly game, the team’s training camp has moved back to the club’s training ground early to continue preparations for the game against Bournemouth.’
That match takes place at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday in front of supporters. It is a busy build-up to the new season for the Blues, who face Arsenal and Tottenham in friendlies before playing Villarreal in the UEFA Super Cup three days before their league opener against Crystal Palace.
The current disruption is something Tuchel could well do without, with Chelsea already without a number of first-team players due to their involvement on international duty over the summer.
The Blues are without a number of first-team stars including Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell
The Blues had 17 players at the Euros, more than any other Premier League club, while they are also currently without Thiago Silva as he recovers from the Copa America.
In their first pre-season match, Chelsea cruised past Peterborough in a 6-0 win at Cobham as some of the club’s attacking players got themselves into confident mood.
Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic and Broja all scored in the victory, but it was Hakim Ziyech who stole the show with a hat-trick off the bench.
It’s been reported that Abraham could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge this summer, with Arsenal among the clubs potentially interested in the English striker.
Ziyech is another player with a somewhat uncertain future as rumours of a move, with some reports suggesting a loan switch to AC Milan, continue.
Tammy Abraham was with the squad in Ireland but rumours of a move away are still strong
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