Thomas Tuchel shares Mateo Kovacic injury update ahead of crucial Arsenal game

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic left Wembley in pain after coming off against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final encounter.

The Croatian midfielder had to be replaced by eventual goal-scorer Ruben Loftus-Cheek after going down with what looked like a twist in his ankle.

Chelsea cruised through to the final after a professional second half display saw them out-class Crystal Palace with a Mason Mount’s goal adding to the Ruben Loftus-Cheek strike to ensure the European Champions still have a chance of winning another Cup this season.

The Blues have now set a date with Liverpool for the FA Cup final and will hope that they go one better than they did when they met Jurgen Klopp’s men at the Carabao Cup final a few months back.

But before then- all attention is now turned to Wednesday night’s Premier League encounter against Arsenal who come to Stamford Bridge on the back of three straight league defeats and desperately looking for a way to get their Champions League ambitions back on track.

European champions Chelsea, are third on the league table while Arsenal are sixth but the Blues know very well that the Premier League table has little effect on who actually wins on the day.

Chelsea fans will hope that their Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic will be able to recover and at least play  a part in the game, but manager Thomas Tuchel has his doubts.

The Champions League winning manager said: “When he comes off, you know that he is in pain.

”The ankle is swollen, it’s a huge ankle right now. Let’s hope, but it does not look so good. Let’s wait for the examination.”

Kovacic has made 22 appearances in the league this season, and has scored twice, he’s been such a mainstay in the team and Chelsea have only lost three games in the league when he’s been on the pitch.