Chelsea star Mateo Kovacic is unavailable to play against Tottenham this Sunday, it’s been confirmed.
Blues manager Thomas Tuchel has announced in Friday’s press conference that Kovacic won’t play in the weekend’s all-London clash at Stamford Bridge against Spurs.
The £40million midfielder, who was an unused substitution in the Premier League opener against Everton, will have to wait a while longer before he makes his first appearance of the 2022/23 season.
He’s sidelined for Sunday afternoon’s league showdown with a knee problem.
Kovacic unavailable against Tottenham
Tuchel has confirmed today that Kovacic is undergoing treatment on a knee injury.
The 28-year-old’s a crucial player in the centre of the park for Chelsea, so he’ll be a big loss against rivals Spurs.
Hopefully, it’s not a problem that will lead to any long-term absence. There’s no timeframe on any potential return yet, though.
Tuchel said: “Kova, who is injured [won’t be available against Spurs].
“Unfortunately, he has issues with his knee… We decided to take a step back and increase treatment time and reduce the stress that comes from training.”
Chelsea beat Spurs four times out of four in their meetings last season, with Kovacic starting and impressing in three of them.
His quality on the ball in the centre of the park is so crucial to Tuchel’s side, especially when it comes to breaking lines with his dribbling.
Fortunately, there’s still other options in the squad the Chelsea boss can turn towards.
It was a midfield pivot of N’Golo Kante and Jorginho that started against Everton, who you’d guess are frontrunners to retain their spots in the XI.
However, Conor Gallagher is an intriguing option that would surely relish being thrown into the fiery London derby. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is another possible alternative, too.
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