The Chelsea manager received a major blow earlier this week when it was confirmed that Ben Chilwell would miss the rest of the season due to a cruciate knee ligament injury.
That setback was compounded on Wednesday evening when both Reece James and Andreas Christensen suffered injuries that are likely to rule them out for the next few weeks at least.
Tuchel’s preferred tactical system relies heavily on attack-minded wing-backs but his options are now severely limited in that department.
Reports earlier this week suggested Chelsea could look to tempt Everton into parting with their out of favour France international Lucas Digne, while they have also contacted Lyon about the prospect of ending Emerson Palmieri’s loan spell.
The French club, however, according to Goal, have blocked Chelsea’s attempts to recall the the Italy international and with no break clause in the deal the Blues will have to explore other options.
‘We can try to find players who are ready to play,’ said an exasperated Tuchel following last night’s costly concession of two points. ‘We have no more wing-backs, we have everybody injured.
‘Players coming back from Covid situation and they’re playing, playing, playing. I will always protect my players. I want to digest this and not talk about the next game.’
He added: ‘This is the reality, this is where we are and we have to adapt to the demands of the situation which you are in. This is what I am saying. I competed very hard for the win at Brighton at home.
‘I don’t know what I can expect from my players in terms of physicality, intensity or minutes. Nobody knows anymore because we have never done something like this. We play trial and error and see what I can do. I will protect my team. We can play better but we need the full squad over weeks and weeks.
‘If you see the impact from N’Golo Kante that he has if he only plays 30 minutes. One single player if you add the minutes that he is missing over a season, if you add the minutes over Mateo Kovacic it is too much.’
MORE : Thomas Tuchel provides worrying update on Chelsea star Timo Werner
MORE : ‘This is the reality’ – Thomas Tuchel explains why Chelsea can’t compete with title rivals Man City or Liverpool
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