Romelu Lukaku lacks fitness because of his injury and thus hasn’t played, claims Thomas Tuchel

Romelu Lukaku lacks fitness because of his injury and thus hasn’t played, claims Thomas Tuchel

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Romelu Lukaku

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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Romelu Lukaku has had fitness issues which has affected his performances on the field and added that the Belgian is always an option for them. The forward has struggled to live up to all the hype since his move to England, netting just 12 goals this term.

After a scintillating time in Italy, a lot was expected from Romelu Lukaku when Chelsea splurged a club record fee on the Belgian last summer. But despite a goal filled start, the forward has struggled for consistency with him no longer a first-choice option as Timo Werner has been picked ahead of him recently. It has seen fans and critics alike concerned at Lukaku’s form especially since he hasn’t scored a league goal in 2022.

But the 28-year-old has had chances to show his mettle although he has more than a few chances over the last few games including in the semi-final against Crystal Palace. Yet despite that, Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Lukaku remains an option for him and revealed that the Belgian lacks fitness after recovering from an injury and thus hasn’t started often. He also added that he doesn’t believe that Lukaku needs inspiration to score goals but needs that “one moment” that will kick things off.

"I don't think that he needs inspiration. He needs that one moment, that one spark. I told you that he would normally be a natural starter against Crystal Palace in terms of the number of minutes Kai Havertz has played now and the amount of physicality he has played with recently,” Tuchel said, reported Goal.

"Because of the injury, he lacks the fitness of matches. I don't point the finger at him, but it's just like this. It's a crucial part of the season when you need to have rhythm. If you see the games against Brentford and Real Madrid, you see the effort we had to put in to become a winning team again.  Rom should have had a goal against Real Madrid [in the Champions League], but he is missing the luck. If he starts, we need all he can do physically, but he is always an option."

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