Thomas Tuchel has confirmed Romelu Lukaku will be available for Chelsea against Watford but insists they will continue to be patient with him after his ankle injury.
The 28-year-old twisted his ankle against Malmö in the Champions League in October and was out for about a month.
Lukaku came off the bench against Manchester United on Sunday as he accelerated his return to full fitness.
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Traveling to Vicarage Road on Wednesday night, Chelsea face multiple injury issues as up to six players may be out. Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic have all been excluded, while Reece James, Jorginho and Timo Werner all have doubts.
Lukaku could start again for the first time in six weeks but Tuchel won’t push back the Belgian international.
“It’s pretty easy with Romelu. He came on and went on training. There is no reaction from his injured ankle, so he stayed in training and is ready within minutes,” Tuchel said at his pre-game press conference.
He added: “It’s easy to work with him when he’s injured because every day he puts pressure and makes everyone back on the field. He tries to push the coaches to convince us That he was ready to start, if it was up to him to start against Leicester when he wasn’t even in the group.
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“He’s a big guy and a big guy with an ankle injury. In my opinion it takes a bit of time because he is putting a lot of weight on his ankle and turning and for acceleration and deceleration this is a crucial part of those movements. We gave him a few minutes and that helps him psychologically.
“He’s happy, he smiles every day. He is determined and trains at a very high level. Once we’re happy that he’s completely free and ready to go and contribute, that’s a lot. We still believe that he can make a difference for us, at the same time we will be patient. “
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