"It is a joy to be his coach" - Thomas Tuchel admits he is a big fan of Chelsea star

Chelsea gaffer Thomas Tuchel expressed his admiration for Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic. The German was speaking in an interview ahead of the Blues' clash against Newcastle United this weekend.

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Here's what the German manager had to say about Kovacic:

"He is a fantastic team player, I was a huge fan of him at Real Madrid. I remember him at Clasicos, I saw such big potential in him. He has such a passion for training, it is a joy to be his coach. We want to simplify his game a little bit and not look for a third or fourth solution as he already has a first and second."

Following their emphatic win against Southampton in midweek, the attention has once again turned to the Premier League, as Chelsea take on the Magpies for the first time following their £350million takeover.

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Kovacic has played an instrumental role in much of what has transpired at Stamford Bridge in the last couple of years. He has netted two goals and has clocked 11 assists in the Premier League. The Croatian midfielder is a match shy of making 100 Premier League appearances for Chelsea.

Sadly, according to Thomas Tuchel, it will be a while before Kovacic can celebrate the magnificent feat. The Chelsea gaffer revealed that Kovacic picked up an injury in training and will be out for a few weeks. Here's what he said:

"You have just reminded me, he suffered a hamstring injury in training and will be out for some weeks."

Chelsea's injury list keeps fluctuating as they continue to dominate the Premier League

Chelsea sit at the apex of the league table after putting seven goals past Norwich City last weekend. Liverpool and Manchester City are tailing the Blues and there's just a two-point difference between the teams.

Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta missed Chelsea's midweek victory but have returned to full-time training.

N'Golo Kante, too, has missed the last couple of games due to muscle fatigue. Tuchel failed to provide an update on the Frenchman's availability but it's possible that Kante could feature as one of the substitutes.

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Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic has started training with the rest of the Chelsea squad following an ankle injury. However, Tuchel reiterated that the American forward will miss the game against Newcastle but might feature in the squad that faces Burnley on November 6.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also doubtful with a hip injury. Chelsea will also likely be without Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku. The former was sidelined because of a hamstring issue while the latter limped off because of an ankle injury in the game against Malmo.