Thomas Tuchel opens up on 'strange' Chelsea midifeld headache amid Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante injuries

Thomas Tuchel has opened up about Chelsea’s current midfield situation, labelling it as ‘strange’ as N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic have suffered from injury while Conor Gallagher is suspended.

The Cobham graduate was dismissed against Leicester City on Saturday after being handed two yellow cards.

This means that he will be unavailable for selection as Tuchel’s side travel to the south coast on Tuesday to face Southampton.

This has left the Blues with a lack of options in midfield, with Kante facing a spell on the sidelines.

Conor Gallagher was dismissed for a second yellow card against Leicester. (Alamy)

Kovacic came on as a substitute for Chelsea against Leicester and is looking to rebuild his fitness after a spell out through injury.

Speaking to the press ahead of Chelsea’s clash with the Saints on Tuesday, Tuchel discussed the situation. 

He was asked if he faces a headache due to the midfield absences. 

The German admitted: "It is, and it's normally the area I would love to have a headache about who plays and who is on the bench.

“This is normally the area where I thought we would have five players that could all play for us and have Carney (Chukwuemeka) on top as an option as a young player.

"The headache before the season was whether we had too many players there, but it comes to the fifth game.

"Maybe we only have two left with experience in this position and Kova from the bench because he is not ready to play full matches at Premier League level as he only had a week after training after his injury.

"It's a strange situation and a situation we don't like. 

“I don't know why we are in this situation, actually. 

N'Golo Kante on the ground holding his hamstring during Chelsea vs Tottenham. (Twitter / Mohxmmad)

“It's like this, and we will have something to think about (over the team selection), or maybe not because it's so obvious who we have left."

Ruben Loftus-Cheek could provide a solution for Chelsea, potentially shifting from right wing-back into central midfield.

Alternatively, Tuchel could call upon Billy Gilmour or Chukuemeka if he looks to hand minutes to the youngsters.

It remains to be seen as to what solution the German will come up with as the Blues look to make it back to back Premier League wins on Tuesday.

Topics: Chelsea, Mateo Kovacic, NGolo Kante, Conor Gallagher, Thomas Tuchel, Football

Nick Emms

Digital Content Editor for Absolute Chelsea. Multimedia Sports Journalism Graduate. Experience: Charlton Athletic.

@NJEmms