Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said Mateo Kovacic will need a "miracle" to be fit for the FA Cup final against Liverpool after limping off injured during Wednesday's 3-0 Premier League win at Leeds United.
The Croatia international was on the receiving end of a dangerous challenge from Dan James in the 24th minute, and the Leeds winger was swiftly shown a red card. Kovacic attempted to play on but was substituted minutes later.
Kovacic now faces a race against time to be fit for Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley, but Tuchel is not convinced the 28-year-old midfielder will be available.
"I tell you as a coach and not as an expert, but for me it is very unlikely he will play in the cup final," Tuchel said. "He tried to play another 15 minutes which was almost impossible, so now he has a swollen ankle and is in a lot of pain."
Kovacic has been a key player for Chelsea this season, providing drive and energy to the Blues midfield, and his presence in the team would make a major difference against a formidable Liverpool side.
"If he misses it I'm very disappointed - he was a clear starter. He is super hungry and determined and [was] excited to play this match," Tuchel said. "Of course, he is in fear now he will miss it. We will see. We need to wait. Maybe we have a miracle and we make it possible."
Kovacic's injury was the only sour note on a successful evening for Chelsea, with goals from Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku ending a minor slump and taking the club a step closer to securing a top four place and entry into next season's Champions League.
Chelsea are third in the standings on 70 points, four ahead of Arsenal and eight clear of Tottenham, who face each other at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday.
"We needed a performance like that. We deserved to win. That's the best message. We were excellent right from the start and kept our focus and high intensity," Tuchel said.
"We cleared the air after the late equaliser against Wolves. We knew what was waiting. We had a lot of reason to trust ourselves. The players delivered. Full credit to them.
"We arrive [to the FA Cup final] with a clear mindset because we did what we needed to do this week. Good news."
Leeds v Chelsea player ratings
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LEEDS UNITED RATINGS: Illian Meslier - 5, Made a superb save to deny Christian Pulisic, even if the strike would have been offside, but there was nothing he could do to stop either of Chelsea’s three goals. Hit a couple of wayward passes. PA -
Raphinha - 5, Starting further back than he would have liked, the Brazilian came close to finding Rodrigo with a ball through. Played some poor passes that conceded possession cheaply, then tried to go it alone when a pass to Rodrigo could have been the better option. AFP -
Robin Koch - 5, Almost got Leeds into trouble when taking the ball away from Meslier with a nervy clearance, but blocked Romelu Lukaku’s shot soon after. Made a good header to stop Marcos Alonso’s cross from causing danger. Couldn’t find the target with a header late on. AFP -
Diego Llorente - 3, Cleared Mason Mount’s attempt in a potentially precarious moment, but couldn’t find the target with an awkward shot at the other end. Conceded possession cheaply in the build-up to Chelsea’s third. AP -
Liam Cooper - 5, Did well to block off Lukaku when it looked like the striker might latch on to Alonso’s pass, but was turned by the Belgian so easily later in the game. PA -
Pascal Struijk - 5, Often struggled when he was called into action by Reece James, though he did do well to head away Mount’s cross intended for Lukaku. Was sat down by the Belgian in the build-up to the third. AFP -
Daniel James - 2, Tried to do too much when he had the ball in the box early on and. In the 24th minute, he was sent off for an overzealous challenge on Mateo Kovacic. PA -
Lewis Bate - 4, Making his first Premier League start against his former club, he struggled to leave any mark on the game. Worked hard right up until he was brought off, but was nudged off the ball by Trevoh Chalobah with relative ease when trying to break through. Getty -
Kalvin Phillips - 5, Struggled to keep up with Chelsea’s play and was booked for a poor challenge on Pulisic. Some of his passing was also off. EPA -
Jack Harrison - 5, Picked up an early knock and was forced off before half time. Put in plenty of work while he was on the pitch but struggled to make an attacking impact. Getty -
Rodrigo - 3, Was unable to trouble Chelsea’s defence. Played some sloppy passes that gave the ball away in dangerous areas and also lost the ball on the edge of his own box. EPA -
SUBS: Junior Firpo (Harrison, 37’) - 6, Showed plenty of heart and challenged for the ball well. Also delivered a good cross Raphinha wasn’t able to score from. EPA -
Mateusz Klich (Bate, 59’) - 5, Moved the ball well and showed composure in the middle, but his weak shot was harmless. Reuters -
Joe Gelhardt (Raphinha, 78’) – N/R, Didn’t get much service but worked hard and came up with some intelligent play. AFP -
CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy - 6, Came out well to stop Raphinha’s pass finding Rodrigo but had very little to do. Getty -
Trevoh Chalobah - 7, Looked comfortable throughout the first half as he wasn’t stretched at all. Sent a shot harmlessly wide with the last touch of the half. Did well to stop Bate when it looked like he might force a way through. EPA -
Andreas Christensen - 7, Was confident but Leeds offered so little in the first half that he never really had to stretch himself. Did well to halt Raphinha’s path when the Brazilian tried to sprint forward. Action Images -
Antonio Rudiger – 7, Moved the ball well. Also looked confident whenever required to do some defending. PA -
Reece James - 8, Intelligently set up Mount for the opener and continued to look dominant whether attacking or defending. Delivered a great cross to create a chance for Lukaku. AFP -
Jorginho - 7, Moved the ball well in the middle of the pitch but looped the ball tamely into Meslier’s arms when the opportunity came to cause problems. Provided the pass to Mount that led to his assist for Pulisic. Action Images -
Mateo Kovacic - 6, Often moved the ball forward, whether through runs or progressive passes, but was unfortunate to be forced off injured following the challenge from James. Getty -
Marcos Alonso - 6, His poor pass wasted a good opening, but the Spaniard defended well when it looked like Koch might break forward. Looked comfortable defensively and got involved in some nice moves in the second half. Getty -
Mason Mount - 9, Provided a clinical first-time finish to give Chelsea an early lead. While he got too much on his pass attempting to find Lukaku moments later, the Englishman continued to dictate plenty of the game’s most threatening attacks. Also provided the assist for Pulisic with a lovely flick. Getty -
Christian Pulisic - 8, Looked lively in the first half. Made no mistake when an opportunity came his way after the break, cleanly placing his shot into the bottom corner. Was unable to replicate that shortly before the hour mark. EPA -
Romelu Lukaku - 8, Frustrated early in front of goal, he couldn’t stretch quite enough to reach Mount’s pass, beat Meslier with a lovely finish but was caught marginally offside, then saw headers go agonisingly wide and over. However, the Belgian looked confident and held the ball up brilliantly and eventually rounded off with a well-deserved goal. Getty -
SUBS: Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Kovacic, 30’) - 7, Drove forward well and was dominant in the air. Hit a disappointing shot after some nice link-up play, but then played the ball forward as Lukaku got his goal. Getty -
Cesar Azpilicueta (James, 78’) – N/R, Largely stuck to the basics and put in a solid display to help Chelsea win comfortably. Action Images -
Hakim Ziyech (Pulisic, 78’) – N/R, Selflessly set up Lukaku as the Belgian got his goal, then curled an effort of his own marginally wide. Getty
For Leeds, it was another blow in their attempt to avoid relegation and manager Jesse Marsch has challenged his players to fight until the end. With two games remaining Leeds sit 18th, level on points with 17th-placed Burnley but significantly behind on goal difference and having played one match more.
"I believe we can still fight for every point left," Marsch said. "Until the red card there were a lot of good things. I like our team, I like the club, I love the fanbase. I'm really happy here. We had our backs against the wall in a very difficult situation.
"None of us have lived this. In big games we make the exact same mistakes. We are all in this together and doing everything we can. We're up for the challenge."
