Chelsea

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel "accepts" Romelu Lukaku apology after interview

By Darren Plant, Senior ReporterPublished: 04 January 2022 1:49 PM

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel reveals that he has "accepted" Romelu Lukaku's apology over comments made during an interview last week.

Head coach Thomas Tuchel has suggested that he and Chelsea are ready to move on from comments made by Romelu Lukaku in an interview last week.

The summer arrival suggested to Sky Sport Italia that he was unhappy with life at Stamford Bridge and was pining for a return to Inter Milan.

The 28-year-old was subsequently left out of the squad for Sunday's Premier League fixture with Liverpool, Tuchel revealing after the game that discussions would be held on Monday.

At a pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday's EFL Cup tie with Tottenham Hotspur, Tuchel has acknowledged that Lukaku has apologised for his actions, the German adding that the situation is now "calm".

Tuchel told reporters: "We are happy that we took the time it needed to look calmly on it and talk calmly on it. This is what we did. He apologised and is back in the squad for today's training. For me, the most important thing was to understand that it was not intentional. He did not do this intentionally, to create this kind of noise ahead of a big game.

"The second thing was that this is the very first time that he behaved, even before when he felt ready to play in his opinion after his injury, and we thought that he needs to re-adapt to the intensity a little bit. There was never the slightest behaviour against the team, so it was the very first time that we felt him this way.

"These are very important points to understand, to stay calm and understand that it is not that big. It's also not small, but it is small enough to stay calm, to accept an apology, and to move on forward."

Lukaku is expected to feature in the squad for the upcoming meeting with Spurs or against Chesterfield in the FA Cup at the weekend.