Thomas Tuchel has explained the reason Tammy Abraham has been struggling to get on the pitch despite being Chelsea top scorer this season, with 12 goals in all competitions.
Abraham has fallen further down from the pecking order with Kai Havertz being preferred as a central striker of late. While, the presence of Timo Werner and Oliver Giroud have pushed the lanky striker to obscurity in the squad.
The former Aston Villa forward last featured for the Blues in a 2-0 home win over Newcastle, having sustained an injury that kept him out for several weeks.
With rumours already hinting at a possible departure from Stamford Bridge this summer, Tuchel addressed why England international Abraham has struggled to earn minutes during his time at the club.
“Tammy has had a bit of a rough time,” Tuchel said ahead of their trip to face London rivals Crystal Palace.
“He started twice or three times and was twice substituted for tactical reasons at half-time. He could not have the impact he demands from himself and we wish from him.
“Then he was injured and lost a bit the connection and possibility to fight for his place in the squad. The squad has played very well without him, we’ve had a lot of results without him. Now we’re in the decisive part of the season where it’s not so easy to bring players who are injured into the shape.
“We have only three changes, which is a big, big thing. It’s a big handicap because three changes most of the time means you only have two because the last one is one you don’t want to lose too early. So circumstances are not easy, but it’s on Tammy to do everything possible to let him out.
“We have a full squad now. We have 22 players on the training pitch and it’s very, very hard to select the 18 players for Premier League matches. We can only change three times but in the offensive position, it is always part to have a huge impact in only some minutes.
“Nothing has changed. We demand a lot of Tammy, he demands a lot of himself, and he is using every minute to convince us that he needs to be on the pitch. From there we go on and every three days there is a match. Hopefully, he stays fit and plays a key role at the end of the season.”
