The reigning European champions must recover from a 3-1 aggregate deficit in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final without four first-team regulars.
Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ross Barkley, and Ben Chilwell will remain unavailable for Chelsea’s trip to Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed on Monday morning that all four players are still out. The Blues boss has, however, welcomed back Cesar Azpilicueta. The captain missed the 6-0 win at Southampton on Saturday due to COVID-19, but he has since returned after ‘several negative tests’.
Azpilicueta’s return is a boost as Chelsea attempt to recover from last week’s 3-1 first-leg defeat to win the Champions League quarter-final tie.
Why is Lukaku out?
The 28-year-old striker will remain in London to undergo further treatment on a sore Achilles. This injury caused him to miss the last game at Southampton.
Hudson-Odoi is out with an Achilles issue as well. Barkley misses out through illness, while Chilwell isn’t expected to return from a knee injury until the summer.
“Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out and Ben Chilwell is of course out for a long time,” said Tuchel in a pre-match press conference on Monday.
“Romelu will not travel due to his pain in the Achilles that he has felt recently but Azpi is in the group. He has tested negative several times now and is okay to be part of the squad.
“Ross Barkley is sick, however, and will not travel with us later. That is the situation right now and everyone else is in the squad.”
At the time of writing, Bet365 has priced a Chelsea win on Tuesday at 2.80. This suggests Tuchel’s men have a 36% of winning the second leg in the Spanish capital.
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