Head Coach Thomas Tuchel has backed Chelsea left wing-back Marcos Alonso to impress in the absence of Ben Chilwell.
Alonso has spent much of the last two months on the substitutes’ bench as a result of Chilwell making regular contributions at both ends of the pitch.
However, the England international will now be absent until next year, a consequence of suffering an ACL injury against Juventus last week.
While acknowledging that he has other options aside from Alonso, Tuchel feels that the Spaniard is ready to make a positive impact over the coming weeks.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Tuchel said: “First of all, we have Marcos, who started the season for us when Chilly was in a bit of trouble. We trust him, we have won Premier League games and he is very experienced.
“If you look at the schedule and think ‘oh, does Marcos have to play eight matches every three days’, is that possible? Maybe not. But we still have Callum [Hudson-Odoi], who can still play as a wing-back, and we have some other ideas that we can try.”
The Blues face a run of three matches in less than a week, with the draw against Manchester United being followed by successive away trips to Watford and West Ham United, but Tuchel will not be considering any option in the left back position beside the Spaniard.
Alonso has made a total of 11 starts and one substitute appearance in all competitions this season.
