Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Andreas Christensen could be available for Chelsea’s FA Cup clash with Leicester City on Saturday, May 15.
The 24-year-old wobbled off the pitch during Chelsea’s win at Manchester City on Saturday.
Christensen’s injury has cast doubts over the defender’s availability for the remainder of the season.
The Danish defender will not be available against Arsenal on Wednesday. But scans on Monday revealed the damage was not extensive.
“It was better than we feared, much better,’ said head coach Thomas Tuchel. ‘We hope for one of the two Leicester games to come back.
“The season is not finished for him. We have realistic hopes that the latest comeback will be against Aston Villa.’
Chelsea have the FA Cup final against Leicester on Saturday, followed by a Premier League fixture against their top four rivals, three days later.
Then they take on Aston Villa before ending the campaign with the Champions League final against Manchester City.
“Andreas was crucial in the matches he played,’ said Tuchel. ‘He is crucial in the back three, he can play all three positions and he’s very calm.
“Don’t misjudge him for being calm, he is very tough to play against, uses his body well and he’s very tough and strong in individual duels.
“The role in the back-three suits his very well and I’ve been very impressed by his performances. We were a bit relieved when we saw the images and not like the worst case we expected.’
Mateo Kovacic has been ruled out by a hamstring problem for the last month and is still not fully fit and ready to face Arsenal.
“We have to postpone the race to Wembley,’ said Tuchel who rejected the idea his team selection might have one eye on the FA Cup final when Mikel Arteta’s team visit Stamford Bridge.
“We just have an eye on the players’ workload and the statistics we have about who is overloaded and at risk of injury,’ said the Chelsea head coach.
“It’s not the time to manage the game for Saturday, it is the time to manage the game for Wednesday.
“We are in the middle of a race for the top four and we cannot judge games.”
