Summary Chelsea's American forward Christian Pulisic is still recovering from an ankle injury.
LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea s American forward Christian Pulisic is still recovering from an ankle injury sustained on international duty this month and Wednesday s League Cup game against Aston Villa will likely come too soon for him, manager Thomas Tuchel said.
The 23-year-old picked up the problem in the United States 4-1 win over Honduras and missed Chelsea s 1-0 Champions League win over Zenit St Petersburg and Sunday s 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
"I think for Christian the game against Villa is maybe a bit too close. I hope I m wrong but this is my impression," Tuchel, whose side did not have a shot on target in the opening half against Tottenham, told reporters on Sunday.
"He s not in training so far but let s see tomorrow. Maybe if he had a good progression today ... it s possible. It would be super nice for us to have him but for me it s a bit doubtful."
Chelsea improved in the second half against Tottenham after the introduction of French midfielder N Golo Kante to seal all three points.
The early pace-setters have 13 points from five games, the same as Liverpool and Manchester United.
They face Villa in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday before a league meeting with champions Manchester City on Saturday.
