Thomas Tuchel rules Chelsea star out of Spurs clash due to injury

Thomas Tuchel has ruled Mateo Kovacic out of Chelsea’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend due to an injury.

The Croatia international remained on the bench for the Blues’ victory against Everton at Goodison Park last weekend.

The midfielder is struggling with issues in his knee and will miss the meeting with Spurs at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

‘Kova is injured, unfortunately, and has issues with his knee,’ Tuchel said on Friday.

‘We decided to take a step back and increase treatment time and reduce the stress that comes from training to have a normal reaction before we start again.’

The rest of Tuchel’s squad are available for selection, apart from Marcos Alonso, who is on the brink of sealing a move to Barcelona.

‘Marcos Alonso is not in training at the moment as he tries to finalise his transfer, so he won’t be in contention for Sunday.

‘Everybody else is available.’

The Blues go up against a Spurs side who comfortably beat Southampton 4-1 in their Premier League opener.

This summer, the north London side have bolstered a squad which already includes prolific duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

When asked the secret to keeping the aforementioned pair quiet, Tuchel said: ‘I will not tell you.

‘They have a pattern in their offensive pressing and how they defend.

‘It’s important we are good on the ball, the dominant team, and hopefully put the game into the opponents’ half.

‘We then have to control the counter-attack. They are maybe one of the best teams in the world on counter-attack. We did a fantastic job last season of closing it down.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news onFacebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Source: Read Full Article