Graham Potter has offered an update on Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic’s fitness after Tuesday’s Champions League clash against RB Salzburg.
The Croatian international was one of four players to come into the team in Austria following the last-gasp draw with Manchester United at the weekend, playing just 75 miles away from where he grew up in Linz.
And Kovacic was one of the best players on the pitch in an initially dominant and later breathless and hard-fought 2-1 victory for Chelsea that sealed their place in the last 16 with a game to spare, and potentially top spot in Group E depending on the Dinamo Zagreb vs AC Milan result later on, giving Potter’s side the lead with a brilliant, instinctive first-time strike with his left boot after 23 minutes.
The 28-year-old continued to impress for the Blues as they hit back after Junior Adamu’s equaliser to win through another Kai Havertz screamer, though was replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek just over 20 minutes from time as concerned onlookers speculated over a potential knee issue.
However, speaking after the game Chelsea boss Potter explained that it was a calf problem on a heavy pitch that actually caused the substitution.
“He is feeling his calf a little bit, it is a heavy pitch,” he said.
“He was feeling a little bit of tightness, hopefully it’s not too bad. It is just how it is at this point of the season.”
Chelsea will hope Kovacic is not facing any time on the sidelines, with Potter already without the likes of N’Golo Kante, Reece James and Wesley Fofana, while Kalidou Koulibaly also remained sidelined with a knee issue on Tuesday night and Thiago Silva played on after a nasty fall late on at Red Bull Arena.
Mason Mount and Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, began the game on the bench due to fatigue.
Potter faces a reunion with former club Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday, followed by games against Zagreb, Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle before domestic and continental football halts next month for the mid-season World Cup in Qatar.
