Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that the club will be without Mateo Kovacic and Andreas Christensen for the FA Cup semi-final tie against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Blues recently suffered a 1-0 defeat to Porto in the Champions League, but they still progressed to the last four of the elite competition after a 2-1 aggregate triumph.
They are scheduled to face the Cityzens at Wembley Stadium tomorrow, and Tuchel has confirmed that Kovacic and Christensen have been ruled out with injuries.
Christensen has been unavailable since the 3-1 league win over Crystal Palace last weekend with a knock. Kovacic suffered a hamstring injury before the Porto clash.
Tuchel told football.london: “We have the green light for N’Golo (Kante) because we’ve had three days. Mateo Kovacic is out and Andreas Christensen is also out of the game.”
Sportslens view:
Kovacic has been in impressive form for the Blues lately, and he has impressed with his tireless work rate and desire to initiate attacks with forward runs.
His absence is a blow for the Blues, though they have quality options in N’Golo Kante and Jorginho to depend on in the centre of the park.
Meanwhile, Christensen has had a terrific transformation of his Blues career, and he has excelled in recent months when Thiago Silva was injured.
The Dane’s contract with the Blues expires in 14 months, but there are already talks of him putting pen-to-paper on a new and improved deal.
In Christensen’s absence, one of Silva or Kurt Zouma could partner Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger in the three-man central defence.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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