Christian Pulisic ruled OUT of Chelsea's London derby with Arsenal

Christian Pulisic ruled OUT of Chelsea’s London derby with Arsenal after Thomas Tuchel reveals American winger tested positive for Covid-19 despite having been fully vaccinated… as American takes to Instagram to assure fans he has no symptoms

  • Thomas Tuchel confirmed that Christian Pulisic has tested positive for Covid
  • The 22-year-old has not trained with the first-team squad since Wednesday
  • He missed out on the club’s open session in front of the fans at Stamford Bridge  
  • He will also miss Chelsea’s clash with Arsenal as he must isolate for 10 days 

Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Christian Pulisic will miss Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Arsenal after testing positive for coronavirus.     

The Blues midfielder tested positive on Wednesday morning, forcing him to forego the club’s open training session which was played in front of fans at Stamford Bridge later that day. 

Pulisic has not trained with the first-team since his positive result and will isolate for a minimum of 10 days in line with UK Government guidelines – causing him to miss out on the London derby this weekend. 

Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Christian Pulisic has tested positive for coronavirus

As a result, Tuchel has ruled Pulisic out of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Arsenal

Speaking ahead of the game on Sunday, Tuchel said: ‘Christian (Pulisic) is unfortunately pretty easy to explain. 

‘He had a positive test and needs to follow the protocols. He’s not in training and not available for the game (against Arsenal).’ 

Following the press conference, Pulisic released a statement on Instagram saying: ‘Hi all, unfortunately I tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. 

‘Thankfully I’m fully vaccinated and I have no symptoms so far. Can’t wait to get back in action! Thank you for your support.’ 

The news comes as a blow to the Chelsea squad as Pulisic started for the Blues in their 3-0 win over Crystal Palace last Saturday. 

Pulisic confirmed the news on his Instagram story but said he has no symptoms so far

It comes as a blow to Chelsea given he started for the Blues in their 3-0 win over Crystal Palace

However, Tuchel has said that Romelu Lukaku is likely to make his second Chelsea debut after returning to the club this summer. 

When asked about the likelihood of Lukaku featuring for the Blues on Sunday, he said:’ We have one more training session to go but the week was a heavy load. He was with the group with the late starters, so it was an overload week so far. 

‘Today was low intensity and tomorrow we will have an important session before the match. We hope he will be on the pitch on Sunday and it looks likely.’

He also explained how he hoped Lukaku would be the missing piece of the Chelsea jigsaw. He said: ‘I believe everyone needs a role. 

However, Tuchel has said that Romelu Lukaku is likely to make his second Chelsea debut

The Blues boss hopes Lukaku will be the missing piece of the Chelsea jigsaw this year

‘The guys who left us played an important role in the last campaign and it’s not nice to let them go. But it sometimes important because everyone needs a role and a situation that needs fighting for.

‘Is Romelu the missing piece? We hope but at the same time we try to find solutions to any questions asked in games. 

‘We want still have a strong squad and a squad that makes a team effort. Romelu is that kind of personality and profile that we were missing up front. From now, it’s our job to push ourselves to the limit.’




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