Chelsea's list of unavailable players as Tuchel fumes "everything is against us"

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel made his frustrations clear after his team conceded a late equaliser to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Blues lost Reece James and Andreas Christensen to injury during the game, before conceding a last-gasp goal to Danny Welbeck.

Tuchel's side dropped further behind league leaders Manchester City after Pep Guardiola's men won at Brentford, and the German claimed "everything was against us" as a penalty appeal was denied before Welbeck's equaliser.

The gap to the reigning champions now sits at eight points, with Chelsea having been dealt another blow in the lead-up to the game with the discovery that Ben Chilwell needs surgery on his knee injury and will miss the remainder of the season, and the absentee list is piling up.

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"We have five or six players out for six or more weeks. How should we compete in a title race?" Tuchel asked after the 1-1 draw.

"Nobody knows [what we can expect] anymore because we have never done something like this.

"We play trial and error and see what I can do. I will protect my team. We can play better but we need the full squad over weeks and weeks.

James limped off early in the Brighton game with hamstring trouble, with the Blues awaiting confirmation on the extent of the issue.

Christensen was also unable to complete the game, struggling with back problems in the first half and being replaced by Trevoh Chalobah at the break.

Chelsea were already without Chilwell, who requires surgery on an ACL injury picked up in the November Champions League victory over Juventus, while Thiago Silva missed out with a hamstring injury sustained against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Forward Timo Werner missed the game after testing positive for Covid, just weeks after returning from an injury lay-off of his own, while Kai Havertz had only just resumed training after his own period of isolation and was only on the bench on Wednesday.

"This is where we are and we have to adapt to the demands of the situation which you are in," Tuchel said, explaining things were "not good" with Werner, who has yet to return to training as he attempts to recover from illness.

Werner has not featured since the 3-2 victory over Leeds United on December 11, and it remains to be seen whether he will be available to face Liverpool on January 2.

Midfield has been a problem area for Chelsea this season, with a number of players missing games, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek is the latest to be sidelined.

The England international has not featured since the draw with Everton on December 16, and was absent from the squad for the Brighton game after Tuchel said the player was "in pain" after sustaining an injury against the Merseyside club.

Tuchel has said the situation has forced him to take risks and disobey medical staff, with N'Golo Kante playing more minutes than is optimal as he works his way back to full fitness.

Finally, after the Liverpool game, Chelsea will be dealt a further blow with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy linking up with the Senegal squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

However, as expected, Hakim Ziyech has been left out of Morocco's squad for the tournament and will be available for the Blues in the new year.