Chelsea fc coach Zsolt Low is very confident his side can cope without Thomas Tuchel on the sidelines for Wednesday’s Club World Cup semi-final against Al Hilal.
Thomas Tuchel missed Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round win against Plymouth Argyle after testing positive for coronavirus and was also unable to fly out to Abu Dhabi.
Tuchel will definitely miss the clash with Asian champions Al Hilal, but he could return for a potential final against either Palmeiras or Al Ahly on Saturday.
Chelsea coach Low and Arno Michels will continue to fill in and the former insists Chelsea’s preparations have not been hampered too much as Thomas Tuchel is providing regular input from London.
“We are constantly in contact with Thomas. We’re using video calling all the time,” Low said at a pre-match news conference on Tuesday.
“We change our ideas a lot of times in the day. We have good conversation to make it like he is here with us together.
“Petr Cech supports us well when Thomas is not here. We have a good medical staff, team management. We have a lot of support. And a lot of video calls with Thomas Tuchel.
“He’ll support us as best he can and give us every day preparation in meetings. In the next days there’s the possibility to talk to the team.”
Despite the four-hour time difference between London and the United Arab Emirates, Low says Tuchel is available at any time of the day.
“It’s not necessary for him to change time zone. We have meetings with an alarm call,” he said. “If we need him at 6am, we need him at 6am.
“We are training in the afternoon so Thomas is already awake then anyway. In the hotel it’s a bit easier for him to chat to the team because of the connection.
“Maybe here in the dressing room can be more difficult. We all the time have phone contact also during the game so he can analyse and try to translate to the team.
“Phone calls and messages aren’t Thomas’ strongest part but he needs to be prepared and ready and be with us on the phone. He’s been absolutely perfect in the last few days.”
Chelsea Boss Tuchel is continuing to isolate, but if he returns a negative test by Thursday he will be in place for this weekend’s final – assuming Chelsea first overcome Al Hilal.
“He’ll follow the government rules, get tested every day and we hope the next will be negative so he can travel as fast as possible and enjoy the group and the team,” Low said.
“We hope but we have texts, phone calls, video calls and give him the feeling he’s with us. We need his absolute support. In 24 hours he could be here.”
Al Hilal beat Al Jazira 6-1 to set up a showdown with Chelsea, who are looking to add the Club World Cup to their collection following last year’s Champions League triumph.
The Blues were beaten 1-0 by Corinthians in the final in their only participation in the tournament a decade ago, but they are favourites to go all the win this time around.
“We have to take that role after winning the Champions League,” Low said. “We know we’re a good team and play a good game but Al Hilal are very good.
“Leonardo Jardim is a very good coach and they have a very good team. We take the role as favourites but for sure it will be a difficult game tomorrow.”
Familiarising ourselves with surroundings! 🏟 #ClubWorldCup pic.twitter.com/M9tDplhyH5
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 8, 2022
