Thomas Tuchel sweating over fitness of three Chelsea stars ahead of Aston Villa clash
Chelsea are set to be without Andreas Christensen, N'Golo Kante and Kai Havertz for their final Premier League game of the season against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday.
According to Football London, a few Chelsea stars are struggling with hamstring issues ahead of the Aston Villa clash.
Chelsea will head into Sunday's game against Aston Villa knowing that only a victory against Dean Smith's side will guarantee them Champions League qualification for next season.
Thomas Tuchel will be sweating over the fitness of a number of his players as he will have one eye on Chelsea's Champions League final against Manchester City on May 30.
Danish centre-back Andreas Christensen has missed Chelsea's last three games due to a hamstring injury that he suffered during the Blues' 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Thomas Tuchel, however, confirmed that Christensen could make his return against Aston Villa during a pre-match press conference on Friday.
N'Golo Kante has been in imperious form for Chelsea. The Frenchman has put in a number of match-winning displays for the Blues in recent weeks. Kante was forced off against Leicester City on Tuesday due to a hamstring issue.
Tuchel revealed that Kante's situation is touch-and-go and that he could still feature against Aston Villa.
"With NG [Kante] it's going to be very close, but there are some hopes he joins the team training on Friday. If not, he will join on Monday," said Tuchel.
German forward Kaie Havertz is also experiencing hamstring issues. Thomas Tuchel has not ruled out Havertz for the game on Sunday, but has said the club will have to run some tests on the former Bayer Leverkusen man.
"Kai did a test today and will be tested in team tomorrow," the Chelsea manager said.
Thomas Tuchel is likely to play his strongest Chelsea XI for the game against Aston Villa
Despite having a Champions League final against Manchester City on May 30, Thomas Tuchel is unlikely to field a weakened starting XI against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The German will be keen to obtain automatic qualification to the Champions League by claiming a victory over Dean Smith's side at Villa Park.
Tuchel will also be eager to guide Chelsea to a third-place finish in the Premier League table, and improvement on their fourth-place finish from last season.