Thomas Tuchel Confirms 2 Stars Will Return To Chelsea Squad For Everton Clash

N'Golo Kante and Trevoh Chalobah were available for selection for Chelsea's clash with Everton in the Premier League, the Blues boss Thomas Tuchel confirmed Wednesday.

Kante suffered a knee injury during Chelsea's UEFA Champions League game against Juventus last month. Chalobah pulled up a lot of pain in Chelsea's league game against Watford and had limped off the field. While Chalobah's injury looked serious at the beginning, the defensive midfielder has recovered well in time with his side having a busy period in the remainder of the month.

"NG (N'Golo) will be back on the bench tomorrow. He did the last two training sessions. Trevoh also did the last two sessions and will also be back in the squad," Tuchel told Chelsea's official website on the eve of their league match against Everton.

However, Mateo Kovacic and Ben Chilwell will continue to be sidelined.

"We need to see. Mateo has been out for seven or eight weeks with injury and then Covid. It's one thing to have NG back on the bench, and one thing to get Mateo back at the end of the week, but does that mean this is really NG, really Mateo? I doubt that. That would mean it would not be necessary to be constantly in training. It will take a while, but it will be a good day for us when both of them are available," added Tuchel.

Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku is also not fully fit and he is going to race against time to play against his former club, Everton.

"We can debate fitness endlessly. The player will say he's fit. Fitness coaches will agree or disagree. Then comes the head coach who maybe agrees or disagrees. It can depend on the intensity level of the game. He played 70-something minutes against Zenit, then we had a lot of traveling, lack of sleep, and a very intense opponent with Leeds. We decided not to put him in straight away. I think he can play 70 [minutes] plus, but it depends how the game goes," Tuchel said.

Chelsea managed only three wins in their last five league games and as a result, they lost their place at the top of the table. With 36 points in 16 games, Chelsea are placed third in the 2021-22 Premier League table. The Blues are a point behind second-placed Liverpool and five behind leaders Manchester City. However, Pep Guardiola's side has played a game more than Liverpool and Chelsea.