Chelsea’s Kovacic still struggling with knee problem

By

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic appears to be facing a continued spell on the sidelines with a knee problem.

The Croatian missed the opening game of the season, at Everton, and has been unable to train fully,

Boss Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Kovacic will also miss Sunday’s derby against Tottenham.


So too will Marcos Alonso, who asked to be left out of the squad against Everton as he is looking to complete a move to Barcelona.

Tuchel said: “He (Alonso) is not in training at the moment as he tries to finalise his transfer, so he won’t be available.

“It’s the same for Kova, who is injured unfortunately – he has issues with his knee.

“We decided to take a step back and increase treatment time and reduce the stress that comes from training to have no more reaction before we start again.”

Speaking at a press conference on Friday afternoon, Tuchel refused to comment on reports he is keen to bring in Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana and Barcelona’s former Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

He did, however, reiterate that he wants to sign another centre-back and that he has an excellent relationship with Aubameyang from their time at Borussia Dortmund.

“Some players stay your player because you were very, very close – and Auba is one of these players,” Tuchel said.