Chelsea have been dealt another fitness blow in the aftermath of their first defeat of the season with N'Golo Kante now set to miss the Blues' next two matches.
The Frenchman was replaced by Kai Havertz after an hour during Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge and will now be sidelined for the trip to Juventus and the visit of Southampton.
It is the latest twist in what looks to be an ongoing debate surrounding Kante. Reports emerged last week that the Blues were considering selling the World Cup winner next summer.
Now 30, he will have just one year remaining on his deal come next summer and the club may well be tempted to cash-in on the highly-rated midfielder.
It will be a relief for Tuchel at least that Chelsea are well stocked in the midfield area. Saul Niguez was brought in during the summer transfer window to add to Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic's services.
One player who appeared to be out of the conversation throughout the summer is Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The 25-year-old had an ineffective season on loan with Fulham last season and many assumed that would signal the end of his Chelsea tenure.
But impressive displays from the bench against Zenit St. Petersburg and City have seemingly boosted him above Saul in the pecking order.
Plenty of Chelsea fans have now taken to Twitter to demand he starts in place of the stricken Kante.
@TBRZY said: "Ruben Loftus, this is your chance!"
@OJ_Stunner said: "RLC should be ready to take his chance."
@Jonzbak said: "Who cares we’ve got Ruben."
