Pulisic injury return 'doubtful' for Chelsea's Carabao Cup clash with Villa - Tuchel

Christian Pulisic is unlikely to feature for Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday as he continues to rehab an ankle injury, says manager Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel was asked about the U.S. men's national team star, who sustained his injury in World Cup qualifying earlier this month, after the Blues defeated Tottenham 3-0 on Sunday.

Because Pulisic has not participated in training yet, it's considered doubtful for him to be available before next weekend at the earliest.

What has been said?

"The game against Aston Villa is maybe too close, I hope I am wrong," Tuchel told reporters. "This is my impression with him not in training so far. Let's see tomorrow. Maybe he had a good progression today. Maybe it is possible.

"It would be super nice to have him but it is doubtful."

What happened to Pulisic?

The forward was forced out in the second half of the USMNT's September 8 qualifier against Honduras.

He had just returned from Covid-19 protocol when he suffered the knock.

Bigger picture

Chelsea's squad is stacked with high-quality attackers, so a first-team place was always going to be difficult to come by for Pulisic.

He scored in his lone Premier League appearance this year, but the Blues have since performed at a high level in his absence. The Carabao Cup would have been an ideal opportunity to reintegrate into the group but it appears he will now need to wait a little longer to return.