James, who left Stamford Bridge on crutches, is understood to have been worried that he had torn his hamstring which would mean the possibility of being ruled out for up to three months.
That really would be the worst-case scenario for Tuchel, who is already without left wing-back Ben Chilwell for the remainder of the season following confirmation that he will undergo surgery on his ACL.
Whatever the prognosis of the scan, Chelsea appear certain to be without James, as well as Chilwell, for Sunday’s visit of Liverpool, with Andreas Christensen a doubt after being forced off against Brighton with a back problem and Thiago Silva missing Wednesday night’s game through injury.
The injuries to James and Christensen, and the nature of the draw with Brighton, infuriated Tuchel, who after the game hit out at the decisions not to award Chelsea a penalty for a foul on Christian Pulisic and to whistle for a foul before Mason Mount rolled the ball into the net.
Tuchel said: “We had 100 per cent a penalty against Christian Pulisic and a 50-50 challenge by Mount when the ball is going into the net. Why not wait? We have Var to check if it’s a foul. Is he (the referee) so sure, does he want to keep the tension up? And the penalty is a joke, not to interfere from Var.”
The assertion that referee Mike Dean may have wanted “to keep the tension up” has been studied by the FA to see whether or not Tuchel was questioning the integrity of the official or implied any bias. Although it was not deemed to cross the threshold for a charge, Tuchel will be reminded of his responsibilities and could face punishment if he offends in a similar manner again.
Tuchel’s mood will not have been improved by finding out that Chelsea cannot recall Emerson from Lyon, as they attempt to find solutions to their wing-back crisis.
Emerson is on loan with the Ligue 1 club with an option to buy and Chelsea are understood to not have an automatic recall clause in the agreement. The 27-year-old has been a regular starter for Lyon, which makes it unlikely he will push for a mid-season return to Stamford Bridge.
That leaves Chelsea potentially having to try to sign Lucas Digne from Everton, while Barcelona’s Sergino Dest could be an attractive option given he can play on both the right and left sides. Digne has already attracted interest from Napoli and Inter Milan, while Italian reports have also credited Chelsea with an interest in AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez.
Chelsea had been hoping to have a relatively quiet January, but that may no longer be possible even though the European champions on Thursday announced losses of £145.6million for the year to June 30, 2021.
Turnover went up from £387.8m to £416.8m thanks to an increase in broadcasting revenue, but Chelsea say playing games with no crowds because of Covid-19 and a reduction in profit on player sales were the main reasons for the loss.
Chelsea FC PLC is supported financially by Fordstam Limited, a company owned by Roman Abramovich, with confirmation in the accounts that the club owes more than £1bn to ‘related companies’.
In a “severe but plausible downside scenario of football being played behind closed doors in December 2021 and January 2022”, the club confirmed it would be reliant on additional funding from Chelsea FC PLC, with further funds needed if the financial impact of Covid-19 were even more severe.
Chelsea’s accounts also reveal there is £24.1m owed due to unspecified “ongoing legal matters”. Since June 30, they have signed three players for a total of £109.7m – Lukaku, goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli and midfielder Saul Niguez, on loan from Atletico Madrid. In the same period, Chelsea sold 13 players for a combined £103.7m. They could also receive up to £16.4m if outstanding clauses in previous transfers are met.
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