SM
Greece vs. England: 16 hrs 39 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Chelsea hoping to have Romelu Lukaku and N'Golo Kante available to face Arsenal

:Headline: Chelsea hoping to have Romelu Lukaku and N'Golo Kante available to face Arsenal:
The duo were absent as the Blues began the Premier League season with a routine win over Crystal Palace.
Sports Mole

Chelsea duo Romelu Lukaku and N'Golo Kante are on track to feature in next weekend's Premier League clash with London rivals Arsenal.

Club record signing Lukaku – a £97.5million purchase from Inter Milan last week – is scheduled to join his new team-mates at Chelsea's Cobham training ground on Tuesday following a short spell in quarantine due to coronavirus rules.

Influential midfielder Kante, who was also sidelined for Saturday's thumping 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace, has been struggling with an ankle issue but is expected to make a swift return.

Romelu Lukaku played a handful of matches for Chelsea at the start of his career (Rebecca Naden/PA)

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel said: "We expect Romelu out of quarantine on Monday and on Tuesday he can join team training because Monday is our day off.

"We will prepare him to be ready for Arsenal and hopefully he can be on the pitch. We get the number one striker in and we want to have him on the pitch, this is very clear."

Kante was not risked against the Eagles after playing the opening 65 minutes of last week's UEFA Super Cup triumph over Spanish side Villarreal.

“We get the number one striker in and we want to have him on the pitch, this is very clear.”
- Thomas Tuchel

Speaking about the France World Cup winner, Tuchel said: "N'Golo felt discomfort in his ankle. He tried in the warm-up to the Super Cup match against Villarreal and he played a little bit with pain and overcame the pain.

"But he felt it again and we had to decide to take the responsibility and to take him out and not do any risk now in the beginning of the season.

"I think N'Golo will be back in the middle of the week to be ready for Arsenal."

N'Golo Kante played through the pain barrier in the UEFA Super Cup (Niall Carson/PA)

Chelsea did not suffer from the absence of the pair against Patrick Vieira's Palace as goals from Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and top-flight debutant Trevoh Chalobah secured a routine win.

Belgium international Lukaku is preparing for a second Blues debut, having made 15 senior appearances during his first spell with the west London club between 2011 and 2014.

He won the Serie A title with Inter last term and Tuchel says the 28-year-old's presence provides options for a change of formation.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel will have fresh options to pick from with the arrival of Romelu Lukaku (Niall Carson/PA)

"We have now with Romelu, the chance to play also with two strikers like they did in Inter with him, or to continue with three strikers," said Tuchel.

"We will see now how this works out and who fights for the places around him.
"I think he will lift the pressure of the young guys' shoulders."

Tuchel confirmed midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek – an unused substitute against Villarreal – was unavailable against Palace following a positive coronavirus test.

body check tags ::

amp_article__459554 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-08-15 22:00:49:
html db last update - 2021-08-15 22:00:49 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Romelu Lukaku

Click here for more stories about Arsenal

Share this article now:
CS
Read Next:
Tammy Abraham arrives in Rome ahead of expected Chelsea exit
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Romelu Lukaku Ngolo Kante N'Golo Kante Thomas Tuchel Ruben Loftus-Cheek Football
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Tammy Abraham arrives in Rome ahead of expected Chelsea exit
"I don't really like it" - Kane hits out at England withdrawals
"There's always that link": Welbeck comments on Man United return speculation
Aston Villa to rival Newcastle for Kieran Tierney?

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Cristiano Ronaldo's record vs. Poland

1

CR

What all-time winning record could England equal against Greece?

2

WA

Preview: Mozambique vs. Mali - prediction, team news, lineups

3

PM

Lee Carsley responds to mass injury withdrawals amid Harry Kane's criticisms

4

LC

Preview: Zimbabwe vs. Kenya - prediction, team news, lineups

5

PZ

Preview: Uruguay vs. Colombia - prediction, team news, lineups

6

PU

Liverpool favourites? Premier League race assessed as City and Arsenal falter

7

LF

Preview: Taylor Fritz vs. Alex de Minaur - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

8

PT

Preview: Jamaica vs. USA - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PJ

Preview: Scotland vs. Croatia - prediction, team news, lineups

10

PS


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .