Tuchel says Chelsea could be without three players for Southampton clash

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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel confirms one absence and two doubts for Saturday’s trip to Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium.

The Blues will hope to bounce back after back-to-back home defeats to Brentford and Real Madrid.

Having just a five-point lead over fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and fifth-placed Arsenal, Tuchel likely will have to field his strongest eleven to secure the win despite the upcoming second-leg match in Madrid.

Tuchel said he hopes that there will be no addition to the injury list after two players picked up small problems.

“Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out,” the German said about the latest injury news ahead of the trip to Southampton.

“We’re a bit in doubt with Romelu [Lukaku] and Hakim Ziyech. They were not in training yesterday due to little problems.

“We hope to have them in training [today] but we need tests and confirmation from the training at 3pm if they are available tomorrow.

“[It] doesn’t look so good at the moment. It’s not a matter of days but weeks,” he added about Hudson-Odoi’s Achilles injury.

“It is [a setback]. He started and had an assist in the Club World Cup final.

“He’s crucial on the left side, sometimes as a wing-back and most of the time as a winger.

“He was growing and [the injury] suddenly stopped his season. Not his fault, of course, but it’s still an upset.”

The 21-year-old has been out since the FA Cup win over Luton Town in early March.

As Tuchel pointed out, Hudson-Odoi’s absence is a big loss, particularly given the lack of left wing-back options at Chelsea due to Ben Chilwell’s long-term injury.

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