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Thomas Tuchel insisted he has no regrets over a Chelsea decision that looks suspect in hindsight, and revealed his sympathy for an Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Amid a spate of injuries and Covid-19 absences, Chelsea have looked vulnerable in central areas in recent weeks. Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic have all spent time on the treatment table. That led to Reece James playing 90 minutes in midfield against Zenit St Petersburg last week after Ruben Loftus-Cheek succumbed to injury in the warm-up.

One player on Chelsea’s books who could have shared the burden is Conor Gallagher.

The all-action midfielder is earning rave reviews at Crystal Palace after being loaned out in the summer.

Tuchel was asked if he regretted loaning such a talented player out given he is clearly capable of mixing it at elite level. However, the German stated the decision cannot be judged with the benefit of hindsight. Even so, he insisted there are no regrets over the decision anyway.

“It’s details of his contract and this will not be discussed in press conferences,” said Tuchel (via Football London).

“I’ve said how much we like Conor and nothing has changed. There is no regret because it seems the perfect decision for him, and that is what we discussed for him in the summer.

“You can’t take the circumstances now and look back on a decision from July. It’s not possible. We did what we did and we are very happy with it.”

Midfield reinforcements on the horizon

Thankfully for Tuchel, midfield reinforcements are on the horizon.

“N’Golo Kante will be back on the bench tomorrow,” said Tuchel. “He did the last two training sessions. Trevoh Chalobah will also be back in the squad. So it’s Mateo Kovacic and Ben Chilwell out at the moment.”

“Mateo is released [from isolation] the day after tomorrow I think. Then we have to see because he’s out for seven, eight weeks with injury and Covid.”

When asked if club-record signing Romelu Lukaku is fit enough to play 90 minutes, Tuchel again urged caution.

Tuchel said: “Fitness we can debate endlessly. The player will say he is fit but maybe the fitness coaches will agree and disagree. Then comes the head coach and maybe he disagrees.

“We let him play 70-something minutes against Zenit and then we had travelling, a lack of sleep and an intense opponent with Leeds because we decided not to put him in this turmoil. I think he can play 70 minutes but we will see.”

Tuchel thriving on title challenge adversity

On chasing Man City after Chelsea’s recent poor form saw them drop to third, Tuchel spoke at length.

“Not so long ago it was the opposite position and Man City turned things around,” said the Blues boss. “At the moment, they have good form and they show it. They show their quality.

“There was never a doubt they have the quality because for years they’ve shown this consistency with Liverpool.

“We knew before that if we wanted to compete with City and Liverpool for the title, we would face adversity and tough moments. So we can’t be surprised now and we can’t give up. We knew this before and enjoy being in the middle of difficult moments.

“Maybe it’s what we need at the moment to overcome. We were lucky at the weekend but didn’t feel blessed with luck against West Ham. We didn’t have the luck against Burnley. So we should not start to say sorry for a late victory, we found a way to win the game.”

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“I feel sorry for [Aubameyang]” – Tuchel

Arsenal striker Aubameyang was stripped of the captaincy on Tuesday following a disciplinary breach.

Tuchel managed the Gabon hitman during their time at Borussia Dortmund. Judging from Tuchel’s response, there remains a clear and heartfelt connection between the two after admitting he feels “sorry” for the predicament he is in.

“He was an important player for me and we have a good relationship,” said Tuchel.

“I feel sorry for him that he is in trouble. This is not where he should be with his kind of quality and the positive character he has. I still believe in this.

“But I am not involved and not involved in what is going on. So I want to show my respect and not judge what is right and wrong. My relationship with Aubameyang is not effected by that.”

Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are all out of contract next summer. Of the four, it is Rudiger who appears most likely to leave.

Tuchel stressed they are all within their right to pursue other ventures, though hasn’t given up hope some – or all – will stay.

“It is their right to do things,” he concluded. “But it is also their right to stay with us and be part of Chelsea Football Club.”

READ MORE: Paper Talk: Furious Abramovich will ‘pull the plug’ on Chelsea move

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