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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel facing forward crisis as Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner suffer injuries
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Published 22/10/2021 at 16:32 GMT+1
Lukaku and Werner each limped out of Chelsea's Champions League win over Malmo and will now miss the Premier League fixture against Newcastle and the EFL Cup visit of Southampton. After the sale of Tammy Abraham in the summer Chelsea are light a senior central striking option, with Kai Havertz perhaps having to plough an unnatural lone furrow in his forward colleagues' stead.
‘We will find solutions’ - Tuchel confident Chelsea able to replace Lukaku and Werner
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Thomas Tuchel is facing a forward crisis at Chelsea after both Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were ruled out of his side's Premier League clash with Norwich.
The two strikers were taken off during the midweek Champions League fixture against Malmo and have now been ruled out of Chelsea's next two games.
Lukaku has suffered an ankle issue while Werner is bothered by a hamstring injury.
After the sale of Tammy Abraham to Roma in the summer, the London club are short of senior striking back-up for the pair.
Christian Pulisic, a potential makeshift option, is also absent, with Kai Havertz likely to bear a heavier load centrally as Chelsea look to remain top of the Premier League.
"[Lukaku] twisted his ankle when he was fouled in the box and Timo [Werner] has a hamstring injury, so it will take a while for both of them," Tuchel outlined. "We need more examinations to be more precise but they will be out for some matches."
Defending his selection of key-man Lukaku against a reasonably weak Swedish side, Tuchel said: "It was necessary that Romelu was on the pitch, he started very strong.
"I spoke with him about the situation, that I think he carries a bit of a mental fatigue around with him, and that I think it’s also normal, but he’s our number nine, he’s our reference up front and the best thing against mental fatigue is a goal and we knew that we could be the dominant team.
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Tuchel calls on Havertz to 'show his potential' for Chelsea
Video credit: SNTV
"I don’t regret it because it’s not a muscle injury and not from physical fatigue, he is more a little bit overplayed.
Lukaku and Werner will also miss the EFL Cup tie against Southampton on Tuesday night as Chelsea enter a busy period before the international break.
Tuchel's side visit Newcastle next weekend before the reverse fixture in Malmo on Tuesday 2 November.
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