Romelu Lukaku could miss tonight’s Champions League match against Juventus, but Massimiliano Allegri has already warned his players about the Blues’ potential without the former Inter striker.
Lukaku sustained an ankle injury over a month ago and even if he’s been training with the group over the last few days, he remains in doubt for tonight’s game at Stamford Bridge.
“Not sure yet [Lukaku]. He semed ok in training yesterday, we will see about the reaction,” Tuchel said at a pre-match press conference on Monday.
“He has an appointment with the doctors and physios. Maybe we can bring 20 players to the squad. The last minutes would be the absolute maximum.”
Allegri suggests Lukaku’s absence could help Chelsea against Juventus
Lukaku has a poor scoring record against the Serie A giants having only netted one goal in seven appearances with Manchester United and Inter.
He scored his only goal against the Bianconeri from the spot in his last derby d’Italia in May.
Lukaku failed to score in the reverse Juve-Chelsea fixture in Turin this past September.
Massimiliano Allegri has warned his players that Chelsea can be dangerous even without the former Inter star.
“Without Lukaku, they have different characteristics differently. They’ll have fewer reference points and do more counterattacks,” the Italian tactician said.
“Lukaku is a reference point. They gain speed without him and defend differently.”
Matthijs de Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci will start in Juventus’ defence tonight with Giorgio Chiellini injured.
They’ll have to deal with the pace of Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount and Timo Werner who are expected to start up front.
De Ligt and Bonucci started in the reverse fixture in Turin with Chiellini coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Lukaku joined the Premier League giants in a €115m deal last summer.
He has scored four goals in 11 appearances across all competitions and Chelsea have won six games out of seven without the Belgian star.