Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is very certain Eduoard Mendy will be fit for the Champions League final against Man City.
The Blues goalkeeper prompted injury fears just six days
before the final when he was forced off in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa
after colliding with the post just before the half time.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought on
for the second-half, with Chelsea securing a top four finish despite the loss
at Villa Park – thanks to London rivals Tottenham and Gareth Bale’s late goals
to make a win over Leicester City.
Tuchel admitted after the match
Mendy was experiencing ‘big pain in his ribs’ and would have to wait until
Monday to discover the full extend of the problem.
And in his press conference on
Monday afternoon, the Chelsea manager revealed Mendy has made a ‘huge
improvement’ in the race to be fit for the mega European showdown this weekend.
He said: “Edou, the update is we still have hope. He has a
chance of training on Wednesday.
“He has made huge improvement in
the management of pain. We’ll have a further update on Wednesday but we hope to
have him back in training.
“Edou will play if he is fit. We
will try on Wednesday, if not then we will try on Thursday, if not then we will
try on Friday. If he cannot make it then we have a strong guy on the bench with
Kepa.
“The images don’t show that the
injury is too serious. Every hour and day counts.”
Mendy has been a revelation
since joining Chelsea from Rennes last summer.
Only Ederson kept more clean sheets (19) than Mendy (16) in
the 2020/21 Premier League campaign.
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