Roberto Di Matteo admits he is still unable to
say for certain whether Chelsea defenders Gary Cahill and David Luiz
will be fit for the UEFA Champions League final.
Chelsea are facing a defensive crisis for the showdown with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena later this month, with captain John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic both suspended.
If fit, Cahill and Luiz will be expected to form the centre-half pairing, but the duo are battling to recover from hamstring problems.
Cahill has sat out the last three games after picking up his injury in the second leg of the semi-final against Barcelona, while Luiz has missed Chelsea's last six matches after being injured in the FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Both players were absent for Tuesday's 4-1 defeat at Liverpool when Di Matteo was also without several other first-team figures due to injury.
With only one Premier League game to come against Blackburn before the 19th May clash with Bayern, Blues boss Di Matteo is unsure when Cahill and Luiz will be fit.
"We have injuries, we had five players unavailable and we need to see how the players are after tonight," said Di Matteo after the Liverpool loss.
"I would love to have all the players who are unavailable for the final available.
"We are working towards their [Luiz and Cahill] fitness and trying to get them back as soon as we can, but I can't put an exact date on it."
If fit, Cahill and Luiz will be expected to form the centre-half pairing, but the duo are battling to recover from hamstring problems.
Cahill has sat out the last three games after picking up his injury in the second leg of the semi-final against Barcelona, while Luiz has missed Chelsea's last six matches after being injured in the FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Both players were absent for Tuesday's 4-1 defeat at Liverpool when Di Matteo was also without several other first-team figures due to injury.
With only one Premier League game to come against Blackburn before the 19th May clash with Bayern, Blues boss Di Matteo is unsure when Cahill and Luiz will be fit.
"We have injuries, we had five players unavailable and we need to see how the players are after tonight," said Di Matteo after the Liverpool loss.
"I would love to have all the players who are unavailable for the final available.
"We are working towards their [Luiz and Cahill] fitness and trying to get them back as soon as we can, but I can't put an exact date on it."
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