Chelsea to examine defensive options in case Luiz and Cahill fail fitness bid
Roberto Di Matteo has admitted Chelsea are looking at other options in defence in case injured centre-back pair David Luiz and Gary Cahill do not recover in time to play Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on May 19, Press Association has reported.
Di Matteo will definitely be without Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry through suspension for the match at Munich’s Allianz Arena, leaving Cahill and Luiz as the only senior centre-backs in Chelsea’s squad. But Luiz injured his hamstring in the FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur while Cahill suffered the same injury in the Champions League semi-final second-leg draw with Barcelona, leaving Sam Hutchinson as the only central defender in the Champions League squad.
Hutchinson, however, has made only one Chelsea appearance since returning from what had appeared to be a career-ending knee injury, and while Di Matteo said the 22-year-old would be involved in some form in Chelsea’s final league game of the season against Blackburn Rovers, Press Association describes the idea of selecting Hutchinson for the Champions League final as “arguably the biggest gamble of all”.
Di Matteo himself said: “We’ll practise different solutions, just in case [Cahill and Luiz are not fit for the final]. At the moment we have the other two centre-halves training but I’m trying other solutions as well.”
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