Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Sunday’s game against Sheffield United comes too soon for Thiago Silva but the Blues are likely to be boosted by the return of striker Tammy Abraham.
The forward has trained fully with the Blues this week and our head coach hopes he will be part of the Chelsea squad that welcome the Blades to Stamford Bridge on Sunday lunchtime.
Thiago Silva is also closing in on a return, however Tuchel believes this is not a game to risk the Brazilian, with the international break just around the corner.
‘Now is not the moment to take the risk with Thiago,’ explained our head coach.
‘It is the last game before the international break and he wasn’t on the pitch today, but he is working hard and hopefully he can rejoin the group during the international break.
‘It’s already too long [for him to be out] but I know how hard he and the medical team is working, and we have zero complaints. We are taking our time with him because we want him to feel 100 per cent ready and 100 per cent free from the injury.
‘Tammy was with the group today and we hope he will be available for Sunday.
‘We had a scary moment when he stumbled and twisted his ankle but it seems not too serious. He was in a lot of pain at the time but he feels ok now and I hope he can be in the squad for Sunday.’
One player who could be in contention to feature against the Blades on Sunday is Olivier Giroud, with our head coach confirming the striker has trained well and remains a big part of his plans.
‘I think Oli can have a huge impact on our team because he has the experience, the physical presence and the ruthlessness in the box,’ added Thomas. ‘This is his style of football and he has been very successful for many years.
‘He has suffered in the last four games or so and I’m not sure I can be totally happy with my team management in the games against Southampton and Leeds. I felt that perhaps these were matches he could have featured for 20 or 25 minutes.
‘So it's my fault. He is training really well, he made a decisive goal against Atletico and I assumed the games against Everton and Liverpool would be high intensity games where we could use more speed.
‘It is my job to push him and give him the feeling that he is still important and important for me, which he is. So the game on Sunday is important.
‘The international break is good for Oli to keep his head in the clouds and enjoy this moment with us.’