Carabao Cup final: Chelsea face injury scare as Kovacic, Ziyech limp out of Champions League win

Chelsea could be left to sweat over the availability of two in-form players for Carabao Cup final against Liverpool after injury scares for Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech.

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London, First Published Feb 23, 2022, 11:06 AM IST | Last Updated Feb 23, 2022, 11:06 AM IST

Chelsea registered a comfortable 2-0 win over Lille in the Champions League last-16 first-leg tie, but the clash was overshadowed by second-half injuries to Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech. The injury scare has now left Blues fans worried with Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Liverpool racing into view.

Tuesday's clash saw German forward Kai Havertz and American midfielder Christian Pulisic score for Chelsea, sparking excitement among fans at Stamford Bridge.

However, the dominating win has left Chelsea sweating over the availability of two in-form players after both Kovacic and Ziyech limped off the field with glum expressions of those harbouring more than just knocks. Manager Thomas Tuchel will hopefully hear some good news over these two players soon, who would want to be part of Sunday's Wembley proceedings.

In an interview with BT Sports, the German boss stated he should have subbed Kovacic at half-time. Tuchel added that he has not had a word with the doctor yet over Ziyech's injury and hoped it is not serious. "Today is Tuesday. There are a lot of days to recover until Sunday. I hope they will be ready," the Chelsea manager expressed.

Highlighting Chelsea's story of the season, Tuchel added that most of the team's substitutions had taken place because of injuries and not tactical reasons.

Talking about Tuesday's win over Lille, the German added, "It was another clean sheet and a well-deserved clean sheet. It was hard work to not allow changes to a strong team. It was a bit up and down, some very good moments, some weaker moments, some unforced errors, but we never gave big chances away."

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Meanwhile, Havertz's impressive run continued in his false nine roles, as 98 million pounds club-record signing Romelu Lukaku watched on from the bench. However, Tuchel insisted that the Belgian, who has struggled with form and fluency, was benched for Tuesday's clash due to fatigue.

Lukaku experienced a record-low seven touches in the 1-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace, raising questions over his omission for the Champions League tie.

When asked about the Belgium international's omission, Tuchel said, "It was not the moment after the Palace match to focus on the few touches he had. It was a moment to take a step back, but you can see we had a strong performance. It was a tough match, and every question is almost about Romelu. Nine other players didn't play, and it was a team game. There is a squad."

When asked why Lukaku was the only unused outfield substitute who did not do a post-match warm-down, the Chelsea boss said, "I don't know. Our fitness guys take care of that, and I trust them. They must have a reason why he was not out. Everyone has an individual programme."

"Every game is different. We focused on intensity, high speed and hard work off the ball. Romelu struggled in the last games to deliver that, and that's why I said I think he was tired both mentally and physically. It is like this, and so today we went for three other players. Kai is in good shape and full of confidence. This was the decision for today, and then we have four days to recover and decide the team for Sunday," Tuchel concluded.

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