Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Mason Mount came off in the Club World Cup final Palmeiras win with a 'stiff' and 'painful' injury amid serious concerns for the upcoming games.
Mount, 23, was selected for the final after only coming on against Al Hilal in the previous round from the bench as Thomas Tuchel and his coaching team looked to manage his minutes smartly, knowing he picked up a knock last weekend in the FA Cup against Plymouth.
"Hopefully not, we will see. He felt an injury in extra time with this shot on goal. Only by this shot – it wasn't a serious problem during the game – it was only when he had the shot he realised he had quick he felt pain and so we took him off," Tuchel's assistant Arno Michels said after the FA Cup fourth round win.
"We will see. There will be further exams. Hopefully, it's not too bad but right now I can't promise what the situation is."
With this in mind, Tuchel took the risk to select him from the start in this showpiece event. It is a decision that looks to have backfired with Mount being forced off 32 minutes.
Christian Pulisic was Mount's replacement, with the England international potentially spending a spell on the touchline whilst he recovers fully from an injury niggle that had put his participation in the Club World Cup in jeopardy before the squad travelled out last Saturday.
Thankfully, from the Blues' perspective, the USMNT international had a strong impact when he came on as he and Kai Havertz, along with the rest of the team, were rewarded for their extra time ventures as the £70m signing scored yet again in the final.
But although celebrations are ongoing in the Middle East, the news on Chelsea's number 19 does not make good reading as Tuchel confirmed the exact reason for the substitute early on.
“He was injured. It was in one of the first actions, he had a run at the back post with Azpilicueta. They fell and his opponent fell on his ankle and he hurt his ligaments badly. So we have to see. It’s an injury," Tuchel clarified in his post-match press conference.
"He came to me and said he didn’t feel good, stiff and painful. He didn’t know if he could continue so we took the decision."
On top of this fresh worry, The Athletic reported the player in question spotted leaving the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium on crutches with it being unknown just how serious this injury will turn out to be in the longer run.
The tweet read: 'It’s not all good news for #CFC tonight.
'Just seen Mason Mount leave the stadium on crutches. Right foot bandaged. Doesn’t know how serious it is yet. Will have a scan.'
With big games on the horizon against Crystal Palace, Lille and Liverpool, Tuchel will certainly be hoping for the best when the scan results are returned.
You can recap all the action from the Club World Cup between Chelsea and Palmeiras here.
