Izuchukwu Okosi
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All is forgiven at last as Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that striker Romelu Lukaku is back in reckoning for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semifinal first leg against Tottenham Hotspur after the Belgian tendered an apology for the unguarded comments made about his time at Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku was dropped for Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League after comments he made in an interview recorded three weeks ago in which he stated that he was not happy with his time at the club where he once had a stint.
Both Lukaku and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel had a meeting on Monday about the striker returning.
“He apologised and is back in the squad for today’s training,” Tuchel told the media on Tuesday.
In an interview recorded in December, Chelsea’s club record £97.5m signing said he was “not happy” with his bit-part role under manager Thomas Tuchel and that he would like to return to Inter Milan in the near future.
Before Sunday’s game against Liverpool, Tuchel said he had left the 28-year-old out of the squad to “protect the preparation”.
Tuchel added: “Even before, when he seemed to be, in his opinion, ready to play after his injury from the start and we thought he needed to readapt to the intensity a little bit more, there was never the slightest behaviour against the team.
“So, it was the very first time that he felt in this way. It’s very important to stay calm and understand it’s not as big as maybe people want it to be.
“He is still our player and we have good,
good reasons to make him play for us and convince him to fight hard.”
Main while Lukaku is set to be handed an astronomical fine by Chelsea that could reach as high as €600,000 (£500,000), according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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