Thomas Tuchel has confirmed the Chelsea team news to face Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Chelsea head to Croatia for their Group E opener and Tuchel's side will be eager to make it two wins on the bounce in all competitions after their 2-1 win over West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
They will be without N'Golo Kante who remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Thiago Silva didn't travel with the squad across Europe for the meeting at the Stadion Maksimir.
New signings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria travelled with the rest of the squad on Tuesday afternoon to Croatia.
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Revealed: Chelsea's 23-man travelling squad to face Dinamo Zagreb for Champions League opener
Ahead of the European clash after the Blues arrived for their evening session, Tuchel confirmed the Chelsea team news prior to getting their 2022/23 Champions League campaign underway.
Silva was left at home to allow the 37-year-old to recover and freshen up, while Aubameyang could feature and start if he passes training with his mask without any issues.
He will not be fit for the whole 90 minutes, while Zakaria is also available for selection.
Tuchel said: “We decided with Thiago that he will have a break from the travelling and the stress after playing every minute so far in very intense matches.
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"It was the moment to give him a break instead of putting him on the bench and having the travel issues. He takes care of his recovery.
“We had the opportunity to take everyone who was in training and available to Zagreb to do our last training. That included Denis and Auba. He had a test with his mask, felt fine, felt normal.
"If everything goes well today they will both be available.”
Tuchel added on Edouard Mendy's involvement: “He’s available."
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The Chelsea head coach was asked further about Aubameyang and his mask, and wouldn't confirm if the Gabon international would start from the off or being on the bench.
He continued: “If there will come an issue today we will not put him of course. There was no issue yesterday. I hope there will not be an issue today.
"Is he ready to start? Of course. He cannot play 90 minutes. It’s on us to take a decision on how we manage the minutes.
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"He needs minutes to get his full fitness and rhythm. It’s on us to find a solution if he comes from the bench or starts.”
Topics: Chelsea, Champions League, Thomas Tuchel, NGolo Kante, Thiago Silva, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Matthew Debono