‘Players like them will help Tuchel’ – Joe Cole reveals two players that can replace Timo Werner and Lukaku
Following Chelsea 4-0 victory over Malmo in the Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, Chelsea lost two players due to injury.
However, Romelu Lukaku suffered an ankle injury on the 20-minute mark after a rash tackle from Malmo defender Lasse Nielsen in the penalty box.
Just before half-time, Timo Werner also had to be subbed off as he seemed to have pulled his muscle and left the pitch clutching his right hamstring.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel revealed after the game that both players would be out for ‘some days’, and seemed confident that he has adequate players who can replace them.
Following this injuries, former Chelsea star Joe Cole has backed Kai Havertz and Callum Hudson-Odoi to come in for the injured duo in the next game. Havertz scored a goal after replacing Lukaku, and he was assisted by fellow substitute Hudson-Odoi who came on for the injured Werner.
“You don’t ever want to lose your two centre forwards, but if you’re going to lose them, you want to lose them when you’ve got that run of fixtures. They’re very winnable games,” Joe Cole told BT Sport.
“Tuchel said that they’ve won matches without Timo and Romelu. Players like Kai Havertz and Callum Hudson-Odoi, they’ve come on tonight, they impacted the game, can they do that again on Saturday?’
“All of a sudden you’re looking round and you can wait for Timo to get back, the manager’s not driving the physio mad by asking when’s he back, because you’re winning games and players are stepping up.”