Thomas Tuchel calls for Chelsea to ‘prove a point’ without injured Romelu Lukaku

Thomas Tuchel has told Chelsea to step up and fill the void left by injured strikers Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.

The European champions face a striker crisis after both players limped out of last night’s 4-0 win against Malmo.

They are set to undergo scans to assess the extent of the damage suffered in the Champions League Group H tie, but neither is expected to face Norwich on Saturday.

With Christian Pulisic still to play since suffering an ankle injury at the start of the season, it leaves Tuchel (right) with severely depleted numbers in attack.

Now the Chelsea manager insists the likes of Kai Havertz must seize the opportunity to lead the line as his side aim to extend their lead at the top of the tabke in their lunchtime kick-off with Norwich.

“We need to find solutions without Romelu and Timo, that’s clear,” he said. “Everyone will join the race to be decisive for us.

“It is always a chance and it is always necessary to prove a point. They can prove a point now so we will have some games without Romelu and Timo so everyone is invited to join the race for minutes on the pitch.

“When they are on the pitch, they need to show their hunger and determination to be decisive and be in the box. They did it tonight but there’s room to improve and on Saturday we need the same hunger and determination from whoever starts because we need goals to win matches.”

Lukaku twisted his ankle when brought down by Lasse Nielsen for a penalty after 21 minutes.

Jorginho stepped up to convert the first of two spot kicks, but Lukaku was in too much pain to carry on as he visibly struggled to put weight on his foot.

Werner was substituted just before half time when pulling up sharply with a hamstring strain.

Tuchel made it clear both players now face lay-offs.

The German added: “You saw it. Romelu twisted his ankle in the box.

“Timo has a hamstring injury. It will take a while for both of them. We need more examinations to be more precise, but they will be out for some matches.”

Tuchel had claimed Lukaku was physically and mentally tired before the game – but hoped a game against such limited opposition as Malmo would give the £97.5million striker chance to end a barren run that now stretches to seven games.

Now he has been left to count the cost of that decision.

“If I knew it before I would not have done it,” he said. “I had the strong belief that in a Champions League match he could turn things around in terms of scoring and being decisive, which he did because he was super strong in our start.

“This was a moment to give him confidence and let him play. I don’t regret it, things like this can happen. It was bad luck.”

Andreas Christensen opened the scoring for Chelsea after nine minutes, with Jorginho doubling their lead from the spot.

Substitute Havertz made it 3-0 after the break before Jorginho struck a second penalty.

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