Thomas Tuchel vowed to never give up on Saul Niguez after Chelsea s midfield selection issues deepened with the loss of Mateo Kovacic to coronavirus.
Kovacic returned to training on Monday following a six-week injury lay-off and was expected to be part of Chelsea s squad to face Zenit on Wednesday.
However, Kovacic returned a positive COVID-19 on Tuesday and will miss the Champions League trip to Russia, while he is also set to sit out the league games with Leeds United and Everton.
Chelsea are without fellow midfielders N Golo Kante and Jorginho, plus defenders Ben Chilwell and Trevoh Chalobah, and Tuchel is cautious about overworking his players.
We had a bit of an acute overload due to injuries and the schedule, he said at Tuesday s pre-match news …
Danish champions Copenhagen began their campaign in the second qualifying round, easing past Iceland’s Breidablik 8-3 on aggregate, but were extended much further to secure their place in the play-offs as they drew 0-0 with Sparta Prague at the Parken Stadium before progressing 4-2 on penalties after an eventful 3-3 draw in the Czech capital.
Polish champions Rakow Czestochowa provided the opposition as they fought for a place in the group stage and a 1-0 away win in the first leg proved decisive as the sides drew 1-1 in Denmark in the return.
Copenhagen are currently a point clear of Silkeborg and Brondby at the top of the Danish Superliga, but have won only once in their last four games in all competitions – Saturday’s 2-1 home victory over lowly Vejle BK.
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This World Cup is setting up as either a treatise or a coronation for Lionel Messi. He recently collected his first major trophy with Argentina — 2021’s Copa America — but still needs the World Cup to stand on the same pedestal as Diego Maradona in most’s eyes. He’s coming to Qatar with unquestionably the best team around him that he’s ever had. He may be getting old, but can still turn a match with a simple twist or feint, just maybe not quite as often. It feels like this is Messi at the gates, waiting for St. Peter to grant him access to the most exclusive VIP room. It is one last checkmark to truly walk with the gods. So why is it any different for Neymar, who still is in his prime? The situation at home is no different. Nothing but the trophy will do for Brazil every to…