Tuchel on injuries, Gallagher and vaccines
- Published
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been speaking to the media before the home game against Everton on Thursday.
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
N'Golo Kante makes a welcome return to the squad and should be on the bench. Trevoh Chalobah has also participated in the past two training sessions, with just Mateo Kovacic and Ben Chilwell still out.
On Conor Gallagher, currently on loan at Crystal Palace from Chelsea and playing well: "I have said many times how much we like him and how well he's doing. Sending him to Palace was the perfect decision for him - we need to work out our issues in midfield, but that's nothing to do with Conor."
Tuchel confirmed he is not considering the vaccination status of potential transfer targets. "Getting the vaccine is still a free choice and we are free adults," he said. "We're not even in talks to bring in players anyway. We trust our squad and hope players will come back from injury."
Even though Manchester City moved five points clear of Chelsea with a 7-0 win over Leeds, Tuchel does not feel extra pressure: "There is always pressure. City are in a good moment but it's not long that the positions were the other way round. We knew before we'd have to face adversity and tough moments, so we can't be surprised and we can't give up."