Thomas Tuchel has said he feels “sad” for Tino Anjorin after the Chelsea youngster’s frustrating pre-season.
Anjorin’s hopes of impressing boss Tuchel were crushed when he recently contracted Covid-19.
He featured as a second-half substitute in the friendly against Tottenham but has not had much of a chance to stake a claim for a place.
Tuchel told reporters: “I’m a bit sad, because he trained so well for us in the last half a year and the race for top four was on and there were so many decisive matches so it was not the moment to try stuff with young players.
“When the season ended we both agreed that he would stay for pre-season and get his minutes that he deserves.
“Unfortunately, what happened was that before the first friendly he caught Covid and really suffered for 10-12 days.
“Today was the first time he could be back on the pitch and it was quite a lot for him.
“So he was very unlucky without having any fault. Honestly, I cannot really judge him. But what I saw today was very promising.
“He’s confident, strong and creative. I wish we had the possibility to see him so that he could really make a statement.
“The main thing for him now is that he gets fit because he had some trouble today adapting to the intensity. He still struggles I think with his illness. We need to be very careful about him.”
