Latest Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea injury news as seven to miss tie with Reece James update
Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund will both be without key players for the Champions League last-16, second leg tie on Tuesday night. With the German side taking a 1-0 lead into the game, the onus will be on Graham Potter’s men to get their second home victory in a row to secure a passage to the quarter-finals but it will be far from straightforward.
Potter is working with the closest thing he has had to a fully-fit squad since taking over but was still without Thiago Silva, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and N’Golo Kante for the 1-0 win against Leeds. This is without mentioning long-term absentee Armando Broja.
Reece James also missed the game with a precautionary decision taken after the England international felt some tightness to his hamstring. The 23-year-old may well return on Tuesday night but is nevertheless far from a certainty to play.
The Blues did go with near enough their strongest side available against Leeds and were rewarded with a first win in six matches and the first since January 15. Getting the better of their Bundesliga opponents is now effectively a bid to continue with any genuine goal for the rest of the season.
Although Edin Terzic’s side have won 10 in a row since the World Cup they also won’t be at full strength. Youssoufa Moukoko remains out having missed the first leg. The 18-year-old has proved to be a star for Dortmund and attracted the attention of Chelsea before committing his long-term future to his boyhood side.
There may well be another attacking injury concern too, with first leg match-winner Karim Adeyemi ruled out, whilst his teammate Gregor Kobel also suffered a setback on Saturday. The keeper, who made several brilliant saves to deny Chelsea in the first leg, stopping 2.05 xG at Signal Iduna Park, was due to start against RB Leipzig but was replaced in the side before kick-off.
Kobel was still named on the bench but it was Janis Blaswich that started the game and Terzic admitted it wasn’t part of the plan. “I honestly didn’t even notice, because when that happened I was with you,” he said to the pre-match broadcaster. “We have to wait, and we want to have an accurate diagnosis.”
Kobel kept his side in the first leg and would be a big miss for the visitors if he wasn’t to play, although it may well help Potter’s men in front of goal with the run of matches without scoring twice now extending to 13 games.
