Thomas Tuchel has admitted that it is likely that Romelu Lukaku will make his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal on Sunday, but Christian Pulisic will not play after testing positive for coronavirus.
Lukaku re-signed for the Blues for a club record fee last week but was not part of his new team in the Premier League opener against Crystal Palace.
The forward has since said he is ready to face the Gunners and Tuchel confirmed this message at his pre-match press conference.
He also addressed a number of other topics, including the future of breakout star Trevoh Chalobah and the role Hakim Ziyech can play this season.
Back in the building! @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/wcAXdnIhzZ
– R.Lukaku Bolingoli9 (@ RomeluLukaku9) August 16, 2021
“We still have a training session to go but the week was a heavy load. He was in 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 pass before the match. We hope he will be on the pitch on Sunday and it looks likely.”
Lukaku’s first Chelsea debut came back in 2011 / Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
“Is Romelu the missing piece? We hope, but at the same time we try to find solutions to all the questions that are put into play.
“We still have a strong squad and a squad that does teamwork. Romelu is the kind of personality and profile that we lacked in advance. From now on, it’s our job to push ourselves to the limit.”
He added: “I believe with his physical strength, to be so fast, to be a real goal scorer, I think it is a unique and new experience for me as a coach. He is a nice guy. We are a good group and it is “It’s important to be a good and democratic group. This suits us well. Let’s hope it remains so positive.”
“Christian has unfortunately had a positive test and must follow the protocols. He has not trained and is not available for the game.
“Hakim and N’Golo both trained yesterday so we have to have a more physically intense workout tomorrow and decide tomorrow. Right now it seems very positive that both can be in the squad on Sunday.”
Chalobah was emotional after scoring on his debut / Visionhaus / Getty Images
“He had a fantastic pre-season with us. He is a top player and a top character. He took the chance very impressively. He played very good matches during the pre-season, performed for 120 minutes against Villarreal and another strong 90 minutes against Crystal Palace. It is logical “He’s staying here. He’s a guy we want to keep and this is his status.”
Asked if Chalobah can play in midfield in the future, Tuchel said: “Maybe one day we will try. There are some things to improve at this level when you have to open spaces so quickly, there is a big difference between playing in midfield and defense.
“Hopefully we do not have to try it, but we have this in mind. We talked on the pitch about it because he made a good ball possession in the middle of the pitch, because he might be the fourth solution. Not so It’s time to confuse him and try to many roles once he has decided in the back three. “
“He was crucial in every friendship and in the Super Cup against Villarreal. It was unfortunate that he was injured but now we have to take care of him. We are happy that he is back on the pitch but a shoulder injury can be tricky. Tomorrow is crucial for him, we’ll see how it goes.
“The good thing is that with a shoulder injury you can still maintain your fitness. He has training in his legs. When he feels completely free, he can hopefully quickly find his achievements from the pre-season.”
