Chelsea coach Tuchel on Romelu Lukaku: “The player may think he is fit, but the coach may think otherwise”

At the end of November, Romelu Lukaku returned to Chelsea for the first time in five weeks. During the match against Manchester United, the Red Devil was allowed in for eight minutes. We thought there was nothing to worry about yet, because he just came back. But after a few days against Watford, Lukaku also had only twenty minutes, and against West Ham he started again on the bench. Lukaku started again in last week’s Champions League match at Zenit St Petersburg.

Lukaku thanked Russia with a goal, but started again on the bench against Leeds United last weekend. “We let him play for 75 minutes against Zenit St Petersburg. After that we had a long journey and our sleep rhythm was disturbed. With Leeds United we faced a difficult opponent after a few days and we waited for a difficult match with high power. That is why I decided not to throw Lukaku on the lions again immediately,” Tuchel explains.

tough competition

To everyone’s surprise, it took until the 87th minute before Lukaku was allowed off the bench. Tuchel’s statements basically show that the coach does not consider his attacker one hundred percent fit. “We can argue endlessly about his fitness. The player may think he is perfectly fit, the physical coaches may or may not agree, and then the coach may think differently as well. A lot depends on the match we are playing and the level of intensity in that match.”

Anyway, Lukaku still has to prove that he can do better in rush hour blues from its competitors. Timo Werner and especially Kai Havertz did not perform badly when Lukaku was absent and he is still a favorite in important matches. Will Lukaku start against his former team Everton on Thursday night? “At the moment I think he can play for at least 70 minutes, but it depends on which match,” Tuchel told fans and the press.

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