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Chelsea's Tuchel worried about player safety

football19 December 2021 19:04| © Reuters
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Thomas Tuchel © Gallo Images

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says the Premier League are playing a dangerous game with player safety after the London club were forced to play their 0-0 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Sunday.


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Chelsea were left angry and disappointed after their request to postpone Sunday's game was rejected despite seven Covid-19 cases in their camp, including Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Tuchel is concerned about the growing number of infections in his squad and believes that by travelling together and sharing a dressing-room, there is a strong possibility of more.

"We talk a lot about safety and protecting the players, but I'm not so sure we did this today," Tuchel told Sky Sports.

"If we have tomorrow and the next test, the next positive, I would like to speak to the Premier League about what they expect," the German added.

"We were made to be in the bus and travel together for three hours, we were in meetings together, in dinner and lunch and the situation does not feel like it will stop if we keep on doing this."

Tuchel fears they could be without more players for Wednesday's League Cup quarterfinal at Brentford.

"If they make us play against Brentford, shall we not arrive or not train? What should we do?"

The Chelsea manager feels the club made a strong case for the Wolves game to be postponed.

"We applied for not playing. It was rejected... it is very hard to understand it, we are concerned about the health of the players," he said before the match.

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