Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Timo Werner will not be travelling to Barnsley amid worries over the forward’s dead leg problem.
The 24-year-old suffered a dead leg while winning the penalty that eventually secured Chelsea a 2-1 win over Sheffield United last Sunday.
In his post-match press conference, Tuchel insisted that the injury was “not serious” despite the heavy strapping around Werner’s left thigh after the game (Goal).
However, the pain persists, and Tuchel has decided that the forward is out of the travelling squad for the FA Cup tie.
“It’s still painful with contact, so we took him out of the training when we did some small-sided games,” Tuchel told Chelsea’s official website.
“We didn’t risk it, and we will not risk it against Barnsley.
“He had a huge impact in our recent games so that’s why we’re a bit sad.
“Because it would have been possible to keep him in this momentum and give him another chance to maybe find the net.
“But it’s good for him now to recover and hopefully be back on Monday.”
Aside from Werner, Chelsea will also be without Thiago Silva who suffered a muscle injury during last week’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Tuchel is expected to make several team changes, having already confirmed Ziyech, N’Golo Kante, and Kepa Arrizabalaga will feature against Barnsley.
Chronicle view
With Werner’s out of the game, Christian Pulisic is likely going to start alongside Hakim Ziyech in the two inside forward roles.
The Germany international will have plenty of time to recover before Monday’s trip to Newcastle United, although today’s match would have been a good opportunity for him to end his poor goalscoring form.
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