Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that he is hopeful of having Mason Mount available for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

The 22-year-old was taken off with 15 minutes remaining in the 2-0 win over Fulham yesterday, and while Tuchel says he was concerned that that the player had picked up a back problem, he doesn’t think it is serious:

“I hope Mason will be okay. I don’t think it was a big thing but we took him off so he can recover ahead of Real Madrid. It was my decision – there was not any doctor or physio who told me to take him off. But I saw him landing hard and it was the moment anyway when we wanted to take him off anyway. I saw him holding his back slightly, so we didn’t want to take any risks but I have no other information on that.”

Antonio Rudiger was also absent for the game against the Cottagers. The German international sustained a head injury in the first leg versus Real last week, and was not in the matchday squad as the Blues eased to victory yesterday afternoon.

However, the 28-year-old is expected to be back available for the second leg next week, with Tuchel claiming he will wear a protective mask so he can play in the match.

The only other injury concern is Mateo Kovacic. The Croatian suffered a setback in his return from a hamstring problem and he is not expected to be ready to face Real.