Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Thiago Silva will not be available for Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid.
While Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz made the 23-man squad that will travel to Bucharest for the first-leg tie, unfortunately, it is not the case for Silva.
The veteran defender has been struggling with the muscle injury he picked up in the London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on 5 February.
“[Silva] is training right now while we are leaving in the next minute, but he did not train with the squad,” Tuchel said in his press conference on Monday.
Presumably, the 36-year-old is still doing light exercises separately from the squad.
While his absence is going to be a big blow, considering how important he has been for Chelsea this season, Tuchel will still have Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma as alternative options.
It is also nice to see Havertz all smiles in training (10:48 mark) as you can see in the video below:
The full Chelsea travelling squad:
Goalkeepers:
- Kepa Arrizabalaga
- Edouard Mendy
- Willy Caballero
Defenders:
- Antonio Rudiger
- Marcos Alonso
- Andreas Christensen
- Kurt Zouma
- Ben Chilwell
- Reece James
- Cesar Azpilicueta
- Emerson Palmieri
Midfielders:
- Jorginho
- N’Golo Kante
- Mason Mount
- Mateo Kovacic
- Billy Gilmour
- Kai Havertz
Forwards:
- Timo Werner
- Tammy Abraham
- Olivier Giroud
- Hakim Ziyech
- Christian Pulisic
- Callum Hudson-Odoi