The Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has tested positive for Covid-19, delaying his imminent return from long-term injury.
Kovacic, 27, had returned to training on Monday after five weeks out with a hamstring injury, and was set to be available for selection for Saturday’s league game against Leeds United.
The Croatia midfielder is self-isolating after returning a positive coronavirus result on Tuesday morning, a day after their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur were hit with an outbreak of cases.
“We have bad news because Mateo was in training yesterday with a big smile, pure pleasure to have him back, and he tested positive and is isolating,” Thomas Tuchel, the Chelsea head coach, said. “He will be out for another several days, which is a huge setback.”
As reported by The Times on Monday, Tottenham have experienced an outbreak of positive results in both their squad and coaching staff, with about six players and three coaches catching the virus. The Premier League’s weekly testing found 12 players returned a positive result last week.
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Asked whether he was worried about the rising cases, Tuchel said: “I’m not happy that this is happening, as a manager and as a person, but this is reality at the moment and we have to be ready to adapt.”
Tuchel is set to make significant changes to his team for their final Champions League group game, against Zenit St Petersburg tonight, as he attempts to avoid further injuries, having already qualified for the knockout stage.
Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kanté and Trevoh Chalobah remain unavailable through injury, while Jorginho drops out, having played with back pain in recent weeks. Chelsea lost their place at the top of the Premier League table after being defeated by West Ham United on Saturday and have dropped points to Burnley and Manchester United in recent weeks.
“Sometimes you overload players, especially with Jorgi, who comes from the Euros, the Champions League, with no pre-season straight into the Super Cup final,” Tuchel said. “We knew that in some weeks he would face this dip in freshness and form. In this moment that it happens, our two main other midfielders are out through injuries. This is maybe what all our problems refer to but, still, we can do better.”
Tuchel said that he was determined to get Chelsea back on track with a busy fixture list ahead. “You have a certain anger in you that you don’t have when you win,” the German said. “That ambition to turn things around. It brings out the need to step up and show a reaction.”
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Chelsea (possible, 3-4-2-1): K Arrizabalaga — C Azpilicueta, A Christensen, M Sarr — C Hudson-Odoi, R Loftus-Cheek, S Ñíguez, M Alonso — R Barkley, K Havertz, T Werner.
Tonight, 5.45pm kick-off
TV: BT Sport 3. Radio: talkSPORT2
