Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that he will make a decision over whether to hand Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang his debut against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League.
The 33-year-old arrived on transfer Deadline Day and was unavailable to face West Ham on Saturday, requiring a mask fitting for his jaw injury.
Travelling to Milan, Aubameyang collected his mask and has trained with the Chelsea team ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash.
The Gabon international could be in line to make his Chelsea debut, and his first Champions League appearance since leaving Borussia Dortmund, where he worked with Tuchel.
Advert
Speaking to the press ahead of Tuesday's clash, the Chelsea boss discussed the potential for Aubameyang's debut.
“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 said about Chelsea's two new signings.
"He had a test with his mask, felt fine, felt normal. If everything goes well today they will both be available.”
The German continued to joke about Aubameyang playing with a mask, being somewhat of a 'superhero' for Chelsea, who need his goals.
“Don’t put any ideas into Auba’s head please! Any further ideas," Tuchel continued. "I’m pretty sure he has his own ones. When he scores he can celebrate. First of all, he needs to score.
Advert
“He’s very ambitious, very focused. He’s hungry to play for us and prove a point. That’s why he’s here, that’s what we felt from the first moment. He is happily invited to prove a point tomorrow.”
It remains to be seen as to whether Tuchel will throw his new signing into the line-up.
The 33-year-old is match fit, having already completed a pre-season with Barcelona before joining Chelsea.
However, Tuchel admitted that he will monitor the striker in Monday's training session before making a final decision.
Advert
He concluded: “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.
"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.”
Advert
Topics: Chelsea, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Thomas Tuchel, Football