Lukaku faces spell out injured – but Tuchel has no regrets

Romelu Lukaku appears to be facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury during Chelsea’s Champions League win against Malmo.

The Blues won 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, where Jorginho scored two penalties.

Striker Lukaku went off shortly after being fouled to win the first penalty.

And Timo Werner limped off shortly before half-time. The German has a hamstring problem and is also expected to miss matches.

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel said: “Romelu twisted his ankle with the foul in the box and Timo has a hamstring injury.

“It will take a while for both of them. We need more examinations, to be more precise, but they will be out for some matches.”

But Tuchel insisted he had no regrets about selecting Lukaku despite having spoken in the build-up to the game about him being fatigued.

Tuchel felt it was an ideal opportunity for Lukaku to rediscover his scoring form after six matches without a goal.

Tuchel said: “If I had known it (Lukaku would get injured) before I would not have done it. But how can you know it before?

“It was necessary to have him on the pitch and he started very strong.

“I spoke with him about the situation and that I think he carries a bit of mental fatigue.

“But he’s also our number nine. He’s our reference up front – and the best thing against fatigue is a goal. It was the moment to give him confidence.

“I had a strong belief that he could turn things around in terms of scoring and be decisive.

“No I don’t regret it, because it’s not a muscle injury or from physical fatigue.

“I don’t regret it. Things like this can happen. It’s bad luck.”