The duo face a race against time to be fit for Sunday’s clash at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea coach Antonio Conte (Photo: AFP)
Chelsea fans’ worst fears were realised during the international break as defensive duo Thibuaut Courtois and Andreas Christensen suffered injuries while on national team duty and Blues boss Antonio Conte admitted he wasn’t sure that the two would recover in time for their Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
“We have to check on a couple of situations in Courtois and Christensen,” Conte revealed at his pre-match presser on Thursday.
“We will see what their physical condition is and if they are able to play on Sunday against Tottenham.”
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The 21-year-old Dane has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Stamford Bridge, rarely putting a foot wrong to make him one of the first names on Conte’s team sheet while Courtois has been a regular for the past couple of seasons and is largely considered one of the finest shot-stoppers in the Premier League.
“At the moment, it’s very difficult to tell you with accuracy which is my choice for Sunday. We have to check these situations first.”
“I have to wait three days before making the best decisions for the team on Sunday. For sure now, we have two problems in Courtois and Christensen that we have to check but the most important thing is to have the right physical condition to play a good game. I have to make this decision.”
Fifth-Placed Chelsea trail Tottenham Hotspur by five points, but could trim that to a more manageable two if they manage to beat their crosstown rivals on Sunday, but Conte admitted that the West Londoners were a bit short of options at the back as David Luiz remains injured.
“David Luiz is out, at least for around another three weeks,” Conte divulged as he continued, ”He’s recovering from a problem in his knee. The solution would be to play Cahill in the middle but we will try to recover Christensen. Ampadu is injured and unavailable for the rest of the season.”
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