Chelsea to play without two key stars until mid-November, Tuchel confirms

The Blues boss hopes Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku will complete their recoveries after the November international break.

Since their 4-0 win over Malmo on October 20, Chelsea have played without the services of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.

The pair were expected to be sidelined for two games, but now Thomas Tuchel confirms they will be out of action until mid-November.

“Timo and Romelu are still out because of their injuries,” the Chelsea manager said ahead of his side’s upcoming game against Newcastle.

“Christian Pulisic did join the last two training sessions, but it’s still too early, given the time that he missed.”

He added: “I’m not a friend of deadlines and putting pressure on expectations, but I can tell you that it’s realistic that both of them, Timo and Romelu, have a new target, and that target is after the international break. That is what we aim for and they aim for.

“With Christian Pulisic, we are looking at the Burnley match.”

Chelsea have had 14 different goalscorers until now this season, but Tuchel insists the players must continue to compensate for the absence of the two strikers.

“We have to compensate the loss of Romelu and Timo,” Tuchel said. “We did score before with different goalscorers, but now it’s even more necessary.”