Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso both fit to face Lille
Defenders Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso could both feature for Chelsea in their last-16 Champions League clash against Lille on Wednesday evening, boss Thomas Tuchel has confirmed.
Image credit: PA Images Azpilicueta, Arrizabalaga and Alonso after their Champions League final win in 2021Alonso has recovered from Covid-19, while Azpilicueta will be returning after an illness.
Chelsea travel to Lille with a 2-0 lead and will be hoping to finish the job in the French city in order to qualify for the last-eight of the Champions League.
Despite the positive news surrounding Azpilicueta and Alonso, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and wing-back Reece James are unlikely to feature.
Both players sat out of the Blues’ 1-0 Premier League win against Newcastle United on Sunday. Speaking ahead of the Lille game, Tuchel said, "We will try to have them join in training later, but this will be a very tight race.
"As you know they were not involved and we will take the decision on those two after training.
"It will be a very late call. First, we need to weigh up the risk. Let's see after training if it is worth the risk or whether it is even possible first, as it will be a very, very tight race for them."
Chelsea are a club currently in turmoil following the UK Government’s decision to sanction owner Roman Abramovich last Thursday.
Despite this, Tuchel is just getting on with the job.
He continued, "It's not easy for us, for the whole club and the fans.
"What we can do is to play good football and try to give the fans a smile in this situation."