Pulisic and Havertz to miss Chelsea trip to Newcastle

Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz are set to miss Chelsea’s trip to St James Park to face Newcastle United over the weekend, according to The Athletic.

The Chelsea duo have been out of action as they recover from their respective issues.

22-year-old Pulisic is regaining fitness after sustaining a hamstring injury in pre-match warm-up at Burnley late in October.

Germany international Havertz tested positive for coronavirus early this month and has been self-isolating.

Chelsea coach Frank Lampard was hopeful either player would be ready for the Premier League match but now the English tactician would have to make custom changes to his squad.

Havertz would have made a return sooner than his counterpart but the match comes too soon for the 21-year-old who has not trained for a while.

USA international Pulisic was off with his international side for the international duties but was released to his club due to the recurrence of his hamstring setback.

However, the Blues will not be short of options after a heavy summer investment to fill in the gaps of his two crucial players.

Croatian midfielder could fill in space for Havertz in the midfield area while Timo Werner – who replaced Pulisic at the onset of his hamstring issue – could fill the void left by Pulisic.

Tammy Abraham would then enjoy the privilege of playing as a central striker, ahead of French striker Olivier Giroud.

The 34-year-old has fallen down the pecking order despite his impressive performance at the national level.

The former Arsenal man is looking to leave Stamford Bridge in January in search of more game time to maintain his sharpness ahead of Euro 2022.