Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Antonio Rudiger missed Wednesday’s Premier League match at home to Arsenal due to a thigh injury.
Malang Sarr started in the place of the Germany international as the Blues hosted Mikel Arteta at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking just before the match, Tuchel said the defender sustained a minor groin injury while winning the FA Cup at the weekend.
His absence came as a surprise although Tuchel did not indicate that he was suspicious during his pre-match conference.
“It’s a groin pain and a minor injury. It’s a matter of days, I hope, and the doctors have told me that unfortunately today is too early, but it will be close to the West Ham game.”
Rudiger wasn’t the only one to suffer a minor injury, Mateo Kovacic has also joined for at least two weeks.
“Kova is out with a ligament injury. We hope he won’t be more than two weeks away. That’s a long time for us in terms of matches,” Tuchel said before the London derby.
“Hopefully it’s as short as possible. Callum Hudson-Odoi is out for the match, and Ben Chilwell is out. Some guys are skeptical we need to check but we hope the rest is OK.”
Tuchel and his teammates will hope Rudiger recovers in time for the weekend’s game against Hammers David Moyes, in the third consecutive London derby at Stamford Bridge.
