Romelu Lukaku has reportedly been left out of Chelsea's squad for Sunday's Premier League fixture against Liverpool.
Since returning from coronavirus, Lukaku has impressed in the Blues attack, netting goals during matches against Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.
However, on Thursday evening, an interview held several weeks ago was broadcast by Sky Sport Italia where Lukaku stated that he was unhappy at Chelsea and relished a return to Inter Milan.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference a day later, head coach Thomas Tuchel was keen to put the outburst into context, despite acknowledging that he had been left angry and surprised by the comments.
Ahead of one of the club's most important matches of the season, the pair are said to have held discussions regarding how they move forward, both individually and as a team.
Nevertheless, according to The Athletic, Tuchel has decided to omit the 28-year-old from his squad for Sunday's encounter at Stamford Bridge.
The development comes at a time when fellow forward Timo Werner has only just returned to training after coronavirus, realistically leaving Tuchel to select either Kai Havertz, who is also lacking match practice, or Christian Pulisic, an option for the depleted wing-back positions, down the middle of his attack.
Darren Plant
