N’Golo Kante had been hoping to rediscover his best form for Chelsea after his return from a groin injury, but he is now back on the sidelines through illness and will miss key Champions League and Premier League games.
The France international is only three outings into a return to action after missing out on three matches with a muscular complaint.
Kante had been catching the eye again, with a starting spot recovered in Tuchel’s plans, but another enforced spell out of contention is to be taken in as Chelsea are forced into more tactical tinkering.
With the player being ruled out for the immediate future, the Blues will have to make do without him when facing Juventus on Wednesday.
Tuchel’s side made a winning start to the Champions League this season against Zenit on matchday one, but can expect to find the going tougher against Serie A giants in Turin.
Kante will be unavailable to them, with players like Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek pushing for starting roles after stepping off the bench in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Changes will also have to be made ahead of their Premier League clash with Southampton on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
Kante will miss that contest and is a major doubt to make the latest France team looking to chase down another major title at the UEFA Nations League finals.
