Tuchel has a challenge for Chelsea players amid the club's striker crisis

Romeu Lukaku and Timo Werner are both set for a spell on the sidelines, and the Blues suddenly find themselves short of attacking options.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel insists his players are “invited to join the race for minutes on the pitch” following injuries to Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.

Lukaku and Werner picked up fitness problems during Chelsea’s Champions League win over Malmo on Wednesday.

Tuchel informed after the match that “it will take a while for” the pair to return to action”, which means the likes of Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, and Callum Hudson-Odoi will likely get more game time.

“There’s always a chance and it’s always necessary to prove a point now,” Tuchel said (via the club’s official website).

“We will have some games without Romelu, we will have some games without Timo, so everybody is invited to join the race for minutes on the pitch and when they’re on the pitch they need to show the hunger and the determination to be decisive, to be in the box.

“This is how it is and they did today and there’s still room to improve. On Saturday we need the same performance, the same hunger, the same determination from whomever starts for us because we need goals to win matches.

“We want to find solutions, but without Romelu and Timo that’s clear, and everybody joins the race to be decisive for us.”