"I just heard him scream"- Thomas Tuchel says Chelsea star required immediate dressing room 'surgery' after Carabao Cup final
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has said that Trevoh Chalobah needed 'surgery' in the dressing room after a challenge from Liverpool's Naby Keita in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
The defender had to be stitched up, but he continued to play on, and also scored in the shootout. That's because the referee and VAR did not deem it to be a dangerous play. Chalobah was caught in the groin area by Keita when the two went for the ball in the second half of the Carabao Cup final.
After a goalless 120 minutes, the Blues lost an epic shootout 11-10 when their substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga produced the only miss from the spot.
Another busy month coming up! 🤝 https://t.co/KjG6OWO4lm
The Reds went on to win the game, but questions were raised about VAR once again. During a media interaction before the Luton Town game on Wednesday, Tuchel revealed Chalobah's situation.
The Chelsea manager confirmed that the defender was in the squad for the FA Cup fifth-round game. However, he added that the player needed immediate attention in the dressing room after Keita's challenge. He said in this regard:
"I would say he has shown some balls - but that would be the wrong line! I could not believe what I saw after the match. There was surgery literally in our dressing room and I am not joking. They were stitching him up. I could not believe it."
"After the match, after the press conference when I left they were doing the stitches, I just heard him scream. It looked horrible. I went in and saw it; it looked horrible, and I could not believe he played one more minute with this kind of injury, but he played the rest of the match and scored a penalty in the shootout. This is really big."
Tuchel added:
"But he was really brave to do this. You could not look away. They had surgery; there were stitches there. He was the only one with the doctors, and I heard the noise. Seriously, it was a proper cut, very close to the area of the groin. It was open, and it needed to be closed. He was very tough, and he has my full respect."
Chelsea to face Luton Town in FA Cup on Wednesday
Chelsea are away at Luton Town on Wednesday, March 2, in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Tammy with a hat-trick when we last faced tomorrow's #EmiratesFACup opponents! 👏 https://t.co/ZydFHuRjhz
In their previous meeting in the competition last year, Tuchel's side won 3-1, thanks to a hat-trick by Tammy Abraham.