Antonio Rudiger: Chelsea picked up a narrow 1-0 win at home against cross town club West Ham on Sunday. The hosts, however, were forced to lineup without their star defender Rudiger.
Following the contest, the Blues manager, Tuchel revealed the injury concern of his defender and his future with the club.
“The situation is that he (Antonio Rudiger) wants to leave the club. He informed me of this in a private talk,” revealing Chelsea’s gaffer.
“We gave everything – me and the club – but we could not fight anymore because of the actions. Without the sanctions we would at least be able to carry on fighting, but our hands are tied. We don’t take it personally. It is his decision.
“He is a key figure and will stay that way until the end of the season. But it is disappointing. We will miss him a lot. He gives courage in the dressing room. The kind everyone is afraid of, but the kind to play 50-55 games at an outstanding level. He is a top defender in the last one-and-a-half years for me. We then need to find another solution.
Antonio Rudiger: Injury update
“He’s injured. No concerns from him. It’s a groin and in the other leg a bit hamstring. He is somebody who plays through pain anyway. It’s not even an injury and he feels insecure. He’ll come back to training on Tuesday ahead of Thursday.
“He has no doubts and he made no doubts that he will play until the end of the season. This is what he did from day one and this is what he’ll do for the last minute.
“In the moment not, because of the sanctions. Hopefully the sanctions will be the past.
“We had a connection from day one and he deserves my full support. I’m just happy to have had the chance to coach him in the team and the club did as well. We had offers, big offers and the club tried everything but we cannot fight anymore. We have the sanctions, we can’t continue. It is what it is.
“It would be ideal [for sanctions to be lifted before the transfer window] but even if we wish for it, you can’t pull grass for it to grow faster. We have to deal with what the reality is. The sanctions are still in place and the situation is not cleared for next season. We try to focus on the last weeks.”
