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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that four of his players will miss their UEFA Champions League clash against Real Madrid on Tuesday (12 April). The individuals in question are Ben Chilwell, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley.
Speaking to the media ahead of the second-leg quarterfinal clash against Los Blancos, Tuchel said (as quoted by football.london):
"Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out, Chilwell is out. Romelu will not travel with us due to the pain in his Achilles."
Chilwell suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in November 2021 and there are question marks over whether he will play again this season. Hudson-Odoi, on the other hand, has not stepped onto the pitch for the Blues since their 3-2 win over Luton Town in the FA Cup back in February.
The latest update on his injury, as per football.london, was that he was facing an Achilles issue.
Lukaku, who played in the first leg against Real Madrid, will miss this match due to a problem with his Achilles tendon. The Belgian didn't feature in Chelsea's 6-0 win against Southampton in the Premier League on 9 April either.
Barkley has largely been a squad player this term, making just 12 appearances across all competitions. Tuchel revealed that he is currently sick and will not travel with the team to Spain. He said:
"Ross Barkley is sick and will not travel, everyone else is in the squad."
The German added that Cesar Azpilicueta, who also didn't feature against the Saints after testing positive for COVID-19, is with the squad now. He said:
"Azpi is in the group, he has tested negative several times."
Chelsea face uphill task against Real Madrid in the Champions League
Chelsea looked uncharacteristically sloppy and tentative for much of the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid last week. They fell to a 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge thanks to a match-winning hat-trick by Karim Benzema. The result puts the Blues in grave danger of exiting the tournament.
The reigning champions face an uphill task but will know that Los Blancos don't hold a completely insurmountable lead. Tuchel's side will have to be on top of their game from the first whistle to force a positive result at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Chelsea will enter this game in good stead following their thrashing of Southampton in the Premier League. Mason Mount and Timo Werner scored braces while Marcos Alonso and Kai Havertz also got on the scoresheet.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, come into this match after a 2-0 win against Getafe in La Liga on 10 April. Casemiro and Lucas Vazquez scored the decisive goals in that fixture.
