Chelsea have put a private jet on standby to race Thomas Tuchel out to the Club World Cup.
The German needs to post two negative Covid tests and the club are prepared to fly him out as late Saturday morning to join up with his players in Abu Dhabi.
Tuchel has overseen preparations via video conferences and phone calls while self-isolating in England after testing positive last week.
But he is desperate make tomorrow’s final against Palmeiras, with the club ready to jet him over at short notice.
Tuchel’s assistants Arno Michels and Zsolt Low have taken charge of training in his absence with technical director Petr Cech also heavily involved.
But his presence was clearly missed on the touchline for Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Al Hilal, with Tuchel having to call his coaches at half-time to instruct them to calm the players down.
It is understood Chelsea have been concerned about maintaining the intensity levels within the squad while away.
It was felt a break in the sun and the luxurious surroundings of their Ritz Carlton base could give the feel of a pre-season tour.
There were fears that could see them get caught cold at the tournament, especially against opponents desperate to make a point against the European champions.
Cech has been among those impressing upon the players the importance of being crowned world champions for the first time in their history, relaying stories of his own regret at failing to win the competition in Japan in 2012.
He gave a lengthy address to them ahead of training on Tuesday.
Still there is the sense that Tuchel has been missed, which is why his intervention was required in the semi-final.
