Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed the club's staff will assess Mateo Kovacic later today to see if the midfielder is fit enough to face Liverpool in the FA Cup final on Saturday. On Wednesday, Kovacic limped off injured in the Blues' 3-0 win over Leeds United.
Kovacic went down after a horror tackle from Daniel James. He tried to play on, but the pain was too much, and he was later replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The Croatian headed down the tunnel with heavy strapping on his ankle and was a huge doubt for the clash with Liverpool at the weekend. However, Tuchel has confirmed there is still hope.
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"We have tried today, which is pretty surprising that we are even in the situation to try it, but Mateo wants to try it, and the medical department gave the green light to try it," the Chelsea head coach said."
"The ligament is already torn from the last incident, so there is no new injury, but he is in heavy pain, and it's heavily swollen, so we're hoping time is maybe enough that he makes it. We will try it in two and a half hours in training, and we'll know more about it."
Tuchel was also asked about N'Golo Kante, who has been missing for the last few matches with injury. The Frenchman, however, returned to training on Thursday and is now in contention to make the squad at Wembley.
"We will also try today with him," the Chelsea boss said on Kante. "He is keen to make it, and hopefully, he makes it to training 100%."
He then added an update on both Kovacic and Kante: "It is the moment to take risks." The Chelsea manager then confirmed Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell both remain sidelined for the final.
