Striker Timo Werner will miss Chelsea’s FA Cup fifth round clash with Championship side Barnsley at Oakwell on Thursday evening, head coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed. The Germany international, who joined the Blues from Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig last June, was forced off with 15 minutes remaining of Sunday night’s 2-1 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. After claiming the assist for Mason Mount’s opener and then winning the penalty for Jorginho to restore Chelsea’s lead following Antonio Rudiger’s forgettable own-goal, the striker was forced off in the latter stages of the contest, before being spotted with heavy strapping around his left thigh.
Thomas Tuchel said“It is still painful with contact so we didn’t risk it today and we will not risk it tomorrow. He had a huge impact on our games so that’s why we are a bit sad because it would have been also possible to just keep going his momentum and give him a chance to find the net. We could have risked it but the decision stands and it is hopefully now for him to recover and be back on Monday.”
In truth, had Werner been fit and available for selection it is unlikely that he would have been named in the starting line-up, with Tuchel poised to ring changes for the clash with the Championship side, who famously beat the Blues 1-0 in their last meeting at Oakwell, all the way back in March 2008.
Thomas Tuchel continued: “If we play in any competition, we play to win it. So every round in any cup competition is the most important round. This is an elimination game and we have to be totally focused, totally on point tomorrow when the match starts, and ready to finish with a win. This is the absolute desire. There is a high possibility we see a lot of changes. First of all, everybody who is on the pitch tomorrow deserves to be on the pitch. So there will be guys tomorrow who suffered a little bit from my decisions in the last few games. And for us, it’s the third away match in a row. We don’t want to lose attention, awareness, and intensity in our game. So this is the moment for us to have fresh legs and fresh minds on the pitch, and to have the full intensity needed to secure this win. This is what we aim for.”
