Thomas Tuchel reveals key Chelsea defender will miss the start of the season

Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Thiago Silva is unlikely to be fit for the start of Chelsea's 2021/22 campaign, as the defender will return late for pre-season after representing Brazil at the Copa America. The centre-back was selected for the summer tournament in South America and featured five times for the Selecao on their run to the final, despite suffering a groin injury. And Tuchel believes Silva's Copa America campaign will mean a delayed start to the new season for the 36-year-old.

"I'm always happy if Thiago goes for a holiday [over the summer] and comes back with us for pre-season because at his age he needs a certain amount of training to play in an intense league like the Premier League," Chelsea's head coach said in an interview for the club's website.   "So now we will have a bit of a delay in his personal season when he comes back late from the Copa. I was a bit sad when they couldn't win at home against Argentina but I hope it's not too big a setback.   "He won it last time, was a big part of it again, and, of course, he played a fantastic role in our half a year and hopefully he can conserve the spirit and the quality and the level of fitness." Source - football.london

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