Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he is ‘a bit frightened’ about the possibility of N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic getting injured on international duty this month.
Kante has been in and out of the Chelsea team all season because of injury and illness and was forced to withdraw from the France squad during the September international break. The midfielder has only completed 90 minutes once for his club so far in 2021/22.
Pulisic is a similar story. The American winger has only just returned to action following an ankle problem, after initially being ruled out with coronavirus in August.
But despite a lack of match fitness, both players have been called up by their respective national teams for this month’s World Cup qualifiers.
"We are happy on one side when our players get nominated because they are proud to play for their country and we want to have the best players that are nominated,” Tuchel said, via football.london.
“On the other side, we would love to rest the players, of course, and give them some days off to disconnect and relax,” the Chelsea boss added.
"With the guys who come from injuries, it feels a little bit like we take care of them, and by doing that we take into account where they play and travel. This is the case with N’Golo and Christian.
"We have prepared them over the last two weeks for us but also so they free to go to their national teams and hopefully get the minutes that elevates them to a higher level when they come back, but if they do not get injured in the matches.
“This is a constant balance and we have no control over it. So I’m always a bit frightened.”
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Source : 90min