Chelsea are sweating on the fitness of Edouard Mendy ahead of a crunch Premier League clash with Manchester City on Saturday, with Thomas Tuchel admitting that his first-choice goalkeeper faces "a race against pain and time".
The Senegal international was unable to figure in a 3-0 derby win over Tottenham in the Blues' last outing, with a knock picked up in a Champions League clash with Zenit keeping him on the sidelines.
Mendy has now been ruled out of a Carabao Cup third-round tie with Aston Villa on Wednesday, with Kepa Arrizabalaga set to continue providing cover between the sticks.
What has been said?
Tuchel told reporters when offering an update on Mendy's fitness: "Mendy cannot play, he was not in training so far.
"We'll try to do everything for Saturday, and to reintegrate him tomorrow to individual training and then hopefully Thursday into team training. But not yet.
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"But it's a matter of the amount of games, the load that we've had for the players. Yes we will have some changes, because we take the opportunity to give important minutes in important competitions to guys who are missing minutes at the moment."
Will Mendy be ready to face City?
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Pressed further on whether Mendy, who has been a reliable option for Chelsea since his arrival from Rennes in 2020, will be ready to face the reigning champions at Stamford Bridge: "Actually, I think it is possible but it is a bit of a race against pain and time.
"I hope he will be back in team training on Thursday. If it goes well, I hope he can be ready for Saturday but I don’t know right now."
What did Tuchel previously have to say?
When asked about why Mendy was unavailable for an impressive victory over Spurs, Tuchel had said: "We tried throughout the week and on Saturday in training it was so-so.
"It comes from the last-minute kick against Zenit in the Champions League.
"It is very painful and he did not feel 100 per cent comfortable going for a full stretch or to land on it. He didn't feel comfortable to fight at set-pieces or corners.
"So we decided to go with 100 per cent and that was Kepa and have Edou with us to be supportive and have good energy.
"I'm happy Kepa played a crucial role and kept a clean sheet. This is what he deserves and I am happy that he could."
