Timo Werner is a doubt for Chelsea’s clash with Crystal Palace, due to illness.
The Germany international has been suffering from a cold since returning from the Club World Cup.
Already unlikely to start the game at Selhurst Park, his absence further reduces Thomas Tuchel’s options in attack, with Mason Mount out due to ankle ligament damage.
It also impacts Werner’s chances of forcing his way into Tuchel’s plans, with ongoing doubts over his long-term future at the club. Werner has not started any of Chelsea’s last six games in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Tuchel is intent on developing a relationship between Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz, the two most expensive outfield players the club have ever bought.
Werner’s situation is being monitored by clubs abroad amid his struggles to settle into English football. And his lack of opportunities in recent weeks have only raised further questions about where he fits into Tuchel’s system.
Lukaku and Havertz started both games for Chelsea in the Club World Cup, with both men on the score sheet in the 2-1 win over Palmeiras in the final.
Ahead of Palace, Tuchel admitted he is still looking for a consistent formation up front, having seen his team selections disrupted by injuries and Covid cases all season.
“Everybody is maybe looking for that and for a settled line-up at the front,” he said. “We have so many players and they have so many qualities that sometimes it is hard to pick and sometimes it is hard to judge who is in the best shape and can help the most.
“We are looking for connections between players who can link up good and genuinely without too much effort, who have a good understanding, similar understanding of the movements. While you are looking and trying your best players get injured and you start all over, you start from scratch so this is a daily business and daily life.”
Tuchel admits he is still looking for a better goal output from £97.5million Lukaku and £71m Havertz.
Lukaku has shown little of the form that saw him fire Inter Milan to the Italian title last season – but scored in both games at the Club World Cup.
Tuchel said: “We need a bit more patience than we maybe all have or wanted to have with his signing. We demand a lot of our strikers in terms of intensity, so there are several reasons why things are maybe like this, but we are on it.
“We want to create more situations, we want to understand him better and his teammates want to understand him better.
“It’s an ongoing process. We still have trust because he has proved at any club he has played for he is the guy who gets the last touch on attacks – he had a very important goal in the Club World Cup final.”
There are aspects of the game where there is space to develop because he is still young.
Havertz has now scored the winning goals in both the Champions League and Club World Cup finals.
Tuchel believes Chelsea are close to seeing the best of the German, with his strike-rate the area most in need of address.
He added: “I think he is in the process of being more reliable and being more consistent. Of course, he is an offensive player and has the ability to score. Of course, we want more goals and he wants more goals.
“In this part of the game, he can improve, he can be more clinical and precise, he can use his technique better in shooting. So there are aspects of the game where there is space to develop because he is still young.
“But he has stepped up twice in big matches, in crucial moments, and this can only be good for his development.”
