Chelsea are set to receive a welcome boost in attack after Thomas Tuchel confirmed star striker Romelu Lukaku ‘is ready for more minutes’ following his injury.
Injuries have been piling up for the Blues in recent weeks and while the Belgian forward looks set to return, Tuchel has several other key names missing ahead of their trip to face former boss Claudio Ranieri and Watford.
However, Chelsea have fared very well since Lukaku’s injury.
His absence could be coming to an end after Tuchel told reporters that he is ready to make the next step after coming on late in the club’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
“With Romelu, it’s pretty easy, he came on and he continued to train, there’s no reaction to his injured ankle,” the Blues manager said.
“He stayed in training and he’s ready to progress, progress in minutes and this is where he is.”
There’s no questioning Lukaku’s ability, given the start he had made before his injury, but his side have still scored for fun with several players stepping up in his absence.
In the four Premier League games he missed through injury, Chelsea scored 14 goals, took 10 points and kept Man City and Liverpool behind them in the race for the title.
The likes of Reece James, Ben Chilwell have been instrumental in that run with the duo scoring four goals between them and contributing three assists.
In their last four away games in the Premier League, as well, the Blues have won every game by an aggregate score of 10-0 and even though Lukaku started two of those matches, he was unable to find the net on both occasions.
To put that impressive form alongside the games he’s missed through injury, the question begs, do Chelsea really need Lukaku?
Either way, it will be highly unlikely that Tuchel starts without his No.9.
“If Romelu’s fully fit, he’s a starter for us, but he’s not in the moment,” he said after the draw against Man United.
Chilwell, Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante are all definitely out for the foreseeable future and there are doubts to Jorginho and more significantly, Timo Werner and top scorer James.
The latter may only be out for a short time, but with Lukaku returning from injury, it almost looks certain that the 28-year-old will be leading the line again for Tuchel against Watford.