Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone was asked about the absence of Thiago Silva ahead of his side's clash with Chelsea on Tuesday night.
Silva has been struggling with a thing problem in recent weeks, and while he is back in training, the veteran defender will not be fit for Chelsea's Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash with Atletico on Tuesday evening,
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel confirmed: “He is not available. He is training right now. We are leaving and he is not available.”
Silva has been a stalwart in the Chelsea back-line this season having joined on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, proving to be one of the signings of the summer for the Blues for all the money Roman Abramovich invested ahead of this season.
The Brazilian's absence for the Champions League clash is a real blow for Tuchel and Chelsea, but Atleti boss Diego Simeone doesn't quite see it like that.
Asked in his pre-match press conference whether his side have an advantage with Silva sidelined for the game, the Argentine simply replied "no".
His deadly frontman Luis Suarez might disagree, but Chelsea have plugged the Silva gap well in recent weeks, so Simeone might just have a point.
Tuchel has trusted Andreas Christensen twice and Kurt Zouma once to cover for Silva's absence in a back-three with Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger, and Chelsea only have conceded twice in three Premier League games.
Chelsea's back-line will have to be at its best again on Tuesday night if they want to keep out the La Liga leaders, and particularly Suarez, who is the league's joint-leading scorer along with Lionel Messi with 16 goals.
Atletico also boosted by the return of January loan signing Moussa Dembele for this one after he tested negative for coronavirus ahead of Los Rojiblancos' surprise defeat to Levante on the weekend, having battled the illness over the course of previous weeks.
