Romelu Lukaku is set to make his second Chelsea debut in the Champions League winners’ second game of the season against Arsenal next week.
The Belgium international is observing a period of quarantine following his club-record £97.5million move from Inter Milan.
Due to UK Covid-19 entry requirements, Lukaku was not able to join up with the rest of the Chelsea squad or put himself in contention for Saturday’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace.
But he will be available to train from Monday so long as he provides a negative test.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed Chelsea had hope to get the deal done in time for Lukaku to feature in Wednesday’s Super Cup win against Villarreal.
He said: “Unfortunately, we are not fast enough to let him play on Wednesday or at least on Saturday, because Romelu is still in quarantine and following the protocols. He will be out on Monday doing the whole training with us next week and will play for us against Arsenal. This is the plan.
“We always try to do it as fast as possible and the sooner the better. If we could have wished for something, he would have been maybe on the pitch and available for even for Wednesday. But the sooner the better, because every game counts and we are happy.
“I’m more happy than sad now, because it’s what I demand from myself to adapt to this situation. We managed to get a big transfer of a target that we had and the profile we were searching for. And that’s why I’m grateful and happy.
“And if things if things go normally, he’ll be on the pitch against Arsenal.”
