Extent of Chelsea's Injury & Covid-19 Problems Ahead of Brentford Tie Revealed

It's been a frustrating week for Tuchel as he's seen the level of availability plummet, leaving him to rush players back from injury as well as putting players in secondary positions. 

Reece James has played in central midfield, while Trevoh Chalobah was put into central midfielder on Sunday as N'Golo Kante was put into the starting XI despite not being fully fit.

Chalobah came off with a knock against Wolves, likewise with Hakim Ziyech, adding to the list of injuries. 

Absolute Chelsea displayed a tweet of Chelsea's absentees which highlights the alarming amount of players who are currently sidelined. 

Ben Chilwell (ACL) as well, Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all confirmed to have Covid-19 and won't be available until after Christmas.

Chalobah picked up a problem and is being assessed by Tuchel and the medical team. Likewise with Ziyech, which Chelsea are confident his issue isn't concerning. 

Jorginho missed the game as a precaution due to positive and negative tests. He handed the Blues a boost after returning to training on Monday

Andreas Christensen currently has a back problem. Kai Havertz is out with Covid-19.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also unavailable for selection after Tuchel confirmed Chelsea had seven positive cases in the squad, but it's likely now to be six after Jorginho's return.

Chelsea's game against Brentford is currently on after the EFL confirmed the fixture would take place if both teams can fulfil the cup tie. 

"The EFL can confirm that its programme of games in the League, Carabao Cup and Papa John's Trophy will continue with fixtures to be played where it is safe to do so, and the set squad criteria can be fulfilled by Clubs," read a statement on Monday.

Tuchel called a whole host of academy players into the first-team squad for training on Monday as the Chelsea boss tries to cope with the player shortage at Cobham.