Mateo
Kovacic has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss Chelsea's Champions
League visit to Zenit on Wednesday.
Speaking at his pre-match news conference ahead of the game in St
Petersburg, head coach Thomas Tuchel described the news as a "huge setback"
for Chelsea.
Croatia midfielder Kovacic had returned to Chelsea training on Monday after
hamstring trouble, only to return a positive coronavirus test on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old had been out of action since late October and Blues boss
Tuchel had hoped to ease him back in this week.
N'Golo Kante remains sidelined with a knee issue, while Jorginho has been
forced to play through the pain of a back niggle and will also now miss
Wednesday night's game.
"We have bad news because Mateo was in training yesterday and with a big
smile and it was a pure pleasure to have him back," said Tuchel.
"But he tested positive today, for coronavirus, so he's quarantining for a
few days. So it's a huge setback for him personally and for all of us."
Asked if the resurgence of coronavirus has caused extra concerns at Chelsea
generally, Tuchel added: "Yes, I was aware that this can happen, me
personally.
"I'm not happy not only as a manager but also as a person. But this is the
reality at the moment, we have to face it to be ready to adapt and to do the
best thing possible to avoid transmission."
Tuchel has built 'a well-oiled machine'
Zenit boss Sergei Semak has heaped praise on Thomas Tuchel's "well-oiled"
Chelsea system.
Chelsea play Zenit in St Petersburg on Wednesday, where the Blues can seal
top spot in Champions League Group H. If the Blues equal or better Juventus'
result against Malmo they will secure first place and a potentially more
favourable last-16 draw.
Chelsea edged past Zenit 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in September, but Semak
knows the quality of craftsmanship that manager Tuchel has put into refining
his tactical set-up.
"You're talking about individual players but I would like to point out the
importance of the system in general, they are like a German machine,
well-oiled," said Semak.
"Every person on the pitch knows what to do and how to do it.
"So I would like to refrain from talking about individual qualities, and
concentrate more on Chelsea as a team."
Tuchel bemoans 'big mistakes'
Thomas Tuchel was left to rue a catalogue of "big mistakes" after Chelsea
slumped to their second Premier League defeat of the season at West Ham.
The Premier League leaders travelled across the capital knowing victory at
the London Stadium would move them four points clear of title rivals
Manchester City and Liverpool before they even had the chance to kick a ball
this weekend.
But Chelsea paid the price for an error-strewn performance as goalkeeper
Edouard Mendy was at fault for two of West Ham's three goals, including
Arthur Masuaku's freakish winner.
"I didn't see our performance dip against Manchester United or today, it was
enough to win the game," Tuchel said.
"We gave easy goals away, this is unusual - big mistakes that lead to big
chances and easy goals. We've done this against United, Watford, and today.
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel says goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is going
through a 'rough period' and suffering from a loss of confidence
"We are not good enough in the details at the moment. This is a game about
details, I can only repeat myself. Without doing big mistakes, there's a big
chance we win this game.
"The [title] race is not interesting at the moment, what is interesting is
the next 90 minutes. We have to have the focus right, the attitude right,
and to take care of the details because we are not good enough with the
details at the moment.
"If you want to protect yourself against counter-attacks, it is impossible
to do these kind of mistakes. We have done these three times in a row; this
is simply too much."
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