Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed Romelu Lukaku is back training with the squad ahead of the Blues’ Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham Hotspur after apologising for his controversial Sky Sport interview.
Lukaku was dropped for Sunday’s game against Liverpool, with showdown talks on Monday expected to help both men clear the air, and the manager has confirmed an apology was made.
The Belgian is now expected to be available for selection for the London derby, with Tuchel making efforts to protect his player and playing down the recent controversy.
The Blues came from behind to claim a point on Sunday, and now face another tough test against a Spurs side still unbeaten in domestic competition under former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.
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"First of all, we are happy that we took the time to look calmly on it, this is what we did," Tuchel said in his press conference before the Spurs game.
"He apologised and is back in the squad for training today. The most important thing was to understand and believe it was not intentional.
"There was never the slightest behaviour against the team. These are very important points to understand that it is not that big as people or you want it to be. It is also not small but small enough to stay calm, to accept an apology and to move on."
Tuchel's next decision will concern whether Lukaku is brought straight back into the starting XI after goals in successive games against Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion.
The manager admitted there might still be some fallout from the comments made by the 28-year-old, who suggested he was not happy with some of Tuchel's decisions since making a summer move back to Chelsea from Inter Milan.
However, he acknowledged Lukaku is an emotional individual, adding that the striker's commitment to the team has not been in question even amid the recent concerns.
"He is aware of what happened and he created and feels the responsibility to clean the mess up but there may still be a smell of course," Tuchel said.
"We are happy that he is our player and we will protect him. If someone strongly disagrees, this is about the team with everything we do.
"I never, before the interview, had the slightest doubt that he was not committed. He is an emotional guy, he does not hold back with his opinion.
"We should not just blame him and point on the negative side of it, we have to adapt. It created some noise that you don't want but there are zero doubts in his commitment to the team."
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who won the league with Lukaku at Inter, had earlier refused to be drawn on the striker's comments amid rumours linking them with a reunion.
"Honestly I'd like not to speak about Romelu because Romelu's now a player of another team," said the Italian, who has also spent time in charge of Chelsea.
"I think it would be disrespectful to speak about him and Chelsea."
