Tuchel: I know why Lukaku’s not firing

Chelsea boss insists striker still re-adjusting to English football

THOMAS TUcHEl revealed he has held Romelu lukaku back as the striker has been protecting his injured ankle in training — and because chelsea were showing more intensity without him.

lukaku has started only one of five games since he spent a month out injured and did not come on until the 87th minute against leeds on Saturday.

The striker, who was signed for £97.5million to spearhead an assault on the Premier league title, has played less than two and a half hours of football in nearly two months — but his boss believes he is fit enough to start and play at full power for 70 minutes against former club Everton tonight.

‘We did not bring him in to play on special occasions,’ explained Tuchel. ‘We brought him in for consistency, but, like it or not, there is adaptation still going on. If you play in Italy or England it’s a very, very different game.

‘When he was out injured we were playing well. We were scoring. We put the intensity level up. We found other solutions because we had to find solutions.

‘And then it was about fitness. In training, he was protecting himself, not with full trust in the ankle. Even if he would never ever admit it, I could see it. You need to be patient.’

lukaku scored his first chelsea goal since mid-September when starting in the champions league at Zenit St Petersburg last week, but after the long trip to Russia, was back on the bench for what Tuchel rightly predicted would be a fiercely intense clash with leeds, which the Blues only won thanks to a stoppage-time penalty.

‘He wants to come back,’ said the German. ‘But there’s a fight going on out there every three days and nobody will say, “OK we play now with less intensity because Romelu needs it”. No chance.

‘With a high-intensity game every three days it is very hard to come back from injury no matter what your name is. We are breaking our heads about when these players can come back. In which moment? For how long? With only three changes, it makes things very complicated.’

chelsea’s form has stuttered without some important players, they have leaked goals uncharacteristically and they have slipped behind liverpool and Manchester city at the top of the Premier league.

‘That’s the big advantage at the moment for city and liverpool,’ said Tuchel. ‘They have everybody available and you see it.

‘We don’t have everybody available. We have key players out for weeks and weeks and weeks and we feel it.’

chelsea’s injury troubles appear to be easing ahead of the festive fixture congestion with N’Golo Kante set to be named among the substitutes tonight after three weeks out.

‘He is there to scare the Everton bench every time he stands up and I call his name out,’ grinned Tuchel. ‘He is Superman and when he is on the pitch he gives you that feeling, maybe the stadium.

‘He reassures everybody that we have extra force, extra gears, and that’s why he is so important.’

Trevoh chalobah is also back in the squad and Mateo Kovacic is expected out of isolation after his positive covid test and back in training tomorrow.

Ben chilwell, ruled out for at least six weeks after suffering cruciate ligament damage in last month’s win against Juventus, has started running but chelsea remain cautious because the medics may yet decide his best option is to have surgery.

‘He is in a good place mentally and physically,’ said Tuchel.

‘He did some running. Everything looks good, so hopes are still up. But we cannot confirm it.’