Chelsea hit with double injury blow ahead of Carabao Cup final against Liverpool this weekend

Chelsea’s preparation for the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool has been further disrupted by injuries to key duo Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech.

The Blues are already with a list of injured players which includes Ben Chilwell, out for the the rest of the season due to a knee injury, Reece James who is working his way back to full fitness after also suffering a knee injury and Callum Hudson-Odoi who has been battling ankle issues and has missed the last two games.

There was further damaging injury news for the European Champions against Lille on Tuesday night, after midfielder Mateo Kovacic limped out early in the second half.

The Croatian midfielder started limping in the first half, but tried as much as he could to run it off.

However try as he could, the pain increased by the minute and he eventually had to be replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Things went from bad to worse for Thomas Tuchel’s side after in-form winger Hakim Ziyech also went down and needed treatment minutes after Kovacic went off.

Doctors tried to get him back on his feet, but he was soon back on the turf and eventually had to be replaced by Saúl Ñíguez.

Injuries to the duo is expected to throw preparations for the weekend’s game into chaos with Chelsea hoping to win their third trophy of the season over the weekend.

The Blues have already won the UEFA Super Cup, and added the Club World Cup title before completing a memorable week with a win at Selhurst Park.

What Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said about injuries against Lille

As expected, the Chelsea boss was concerned about the injuries with vital games coming up at a very crucial stage of the season.

The Champions League manager said: “I wish I had subbed him [Kovacic] off in the first half when he started struggling but I thought he could get through it but maybe I was wrong.

“I have not had the chance to look at Ziyech yet.”

Goals at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea strolled to a 2-0 lead in the game with Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic helping themselves to a goal each.

Lille looked decent in patches, but ultimately failed to master a threat going forward.

The French champions came into the game with a reputation of being a very hard team to beat in Europe, but the gulf in class between the two sides was evident with Chelsea being too strong.