Chelsea consider Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante gamble for Tottenham League Cup clash

Manager Tuchel must make last minute call on pair who come out from Covid isolation one day before semi-final second leg

Thiago Silva could return for Chelsea's League Cup semi-final second leg against Spurs. EPA

Thomas Tuchel is weighing up the gamble of whether to bring Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante back for Chelsea's League Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham Hotspur a day after they emerge from isolation.

The German had to change both team and system when the Brazilian defender and the French midfielder tested positive for coronavirus before the 2-0 win over Spurs in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

And as he prepares for the return fixture on Wednesday, Tuchel illustrated the uncertainty of trying to pick a side in uncertain times. “We have to wait for a last-minute position on Thiago and N’Golo,” he said.

“We have training at 4pm so you hope everybody makes it into the building with a negative test. That is never 100 per cent sure. You can only be sure one hour before training. It is more or less a daily routine. It is demanding but not impossible.

“If you want to release players after being positive like N’Golo and Thiago Silva, you have to follow some official protocols and then you have to be very flexible. It can be that both of them arrive later in the afternoon and train. If they are in training, then we see how they respond. If we do it, it is a gamble and I am not sure how much of a responsibility we can take there.”

Tuchel started with a back four for the first time as Chelsea manager last week because, without Silva, he did not have three central defenders and two wing-backs.

While he has more players available now, injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell have left him short of players on either flank and considering transfers. “The areas are clear where we are looking to the market,” he said, while adding he had “no news” on the possibility Chelsea can recall Emerson Palmieri from his loan at Lyon.

But one of Chelsea’s biggest signings is back in the side. With Edouard Mendy at the African Cup of Nations, the £71 million goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is set for his longest spell in the team since 2019-20. With a semi-final against Spurs and a Premier League clash with Manchester City, there will be focus on the Spaniard.

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His Chelsea career has been mixed and contained some high-profile mishaps but the Spaniard won August’s European Super Cup with his penalty saves and Tuchel expressed confidence in Arrizabalaga as he praised him for supporting Mendy.

“I never experienced Kepa nervous,” he said. “Never. Not one single day. I never experienced him jealous. I never experienced him being unhappy for his colleague. The good thing is that there was a very genuine trust once we needed him to play for us and once we let him play. He was very calm and focused.

“I have the feeling that he felt he doesn't need to show it over 90 minutes that he is capable. We are so happy to have him. This is maybe the difference. There's no extra sentence or speech from me. There's no special stuff; it is genuine trust.”

Chelsea were dominant last week but Tuchel denied they have almost booked their place in a fourth final of his brief reign. “I would actually say we have no foot in the final, none of the teams, whether it half a foot or a whole foot, there is no need to waste energy over these things,” he said.

“We had a win but now it starts from scratch. We expect the best possible Tottenham side. It is our obligation to be prepared. We have to be spot on, forget the first result and do it again.”