Christian Pulisic will be in Chelsea’s squad for Tuesday’s Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund, head coach Graham Potter has confirmed.
Pulisic has not played for the Blues since early January, when he suffered a knee injury in a match against Manchester City.
The 24-year-old returned to training two weeks ago and has been making steady progress as he nears a return to the pitch.
At his pre-match press conference on Monday, Potter confirmed that Pulisic will be in Chelsea’s squad for the must-win match against his former side.
‘Christian is in the squad,” Potter said. “He’s training well and looking good.”
Chelsea fell 1-0 to Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park in the last-16 first leg in February, and must win in London on Tuesday against a team that has won 10 straight matches in all competitions.
“They are in a fantastic vein of form,” Potter said. “Just see their results in the Bundesliga where they are winning constantly. That tells you they are doing a lot well. They have good individuals and it will be a good challenge.”
The pressure on Potter eased somewhat over the weekend, as Chelsea beat Leeds 1-0 for the team’s first win since January. But speculation over Potter’s future will quickly ramp back up if Chelsea is eliminated from Europe on Tuesday night.
Despite the club’s terrible run of form, Potter insisted that his side is in a positive state of mind ahead of a season-defining match.
“The mood has been positive throughout,” he said. “Not happy, joking and smiling, but there has been a support for each other and a good atmosphere. At the same time, you have to take responsibility that we were not in a good place [from a] results perspective. When you win a game, your smile comes back.”
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