Chelsea are set to take on Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The Blues brushed Chesterfield aside 5-1 in the last round, while League 1 Plymouth edged past 10 man Birmingham City thanks to a goal in extra time, and have been rewarded with a trip to Stamford Bridge to take on the European Champions.

And, while the Blues have been decimated by injuries so far this campaign, it is a full-strength playing squad that will face Argyle, with the exception of Ben Chilwell who was ruled out for the season with an Anterior Cruciate injury in January.

However, in the dugout, it is a different story.

Tuchel to miss out

Chelsea will be without manager Thomas Tuchel for the tie, it has emerged, as the German coach has tested positive for COVID-19 in the run-up to the encounter.

In an official statement on their website, the club explained the situation.

‘The Chelsea head coach will now follow necessary self-isolation protocols and hopes to join up with the team in Abu Dhabi later next week’, they revealed.

‘The team fly out for the Club World Cup following this afternoon’s FA Cup clash with Plymouth Argyle.’

With Chelsea flying out for their Club World Cup fixtures this afternoon, and playing their first game on Wednesday 9th February, it will be a tight turnaround to see if Tuchel will be able to be in the dugout, given that the game is 5 days away and the German will have had to have tested negative before boarding a flight.

It could be a cruel blow to the Blues.

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