Tuchel: We decided to speak to Hudson-Odoi, I had my reasons to do it

The

boss

Thomas Tuchel

claims that his decision regarding sending

Callum Hudson-Odoi

off the pitch after bringing him on only half-an-hour earlier in their 1-1 draw against

left no hard feelings between the two.

Hudson-Odoi may be included in Chelsea’s starting XI when they lock horns with

in the Champions League, according to Tuchel.

The 20-year-old did not take the Blues boss’s decision personally and his status did not change after the incident at St Mary’s.

"

Yes, that’s right,

" he said when quizzed if Hudson-Odoi will be in the starting lineup in Romania. "

We decided to speak to him in front of the whole group because I had my reasons to do it. Was it the right decision? I don't know but it was my decision at this moment.

"For us in the group, we spoke as a whole group to not make it bigger than it is because for us it was not a big thing. I know that it could sometimes be and sometimes you reflect why you do it, should you do it because sometimes maybe the media and family make it bigger than it was meant.

"So, I did it and we had the only reaction that we wanted. He went back to normal mood, to a good mood, to a smile, to training and the next day very, very good training and today. That's it.

"I already said after the game this was the decision for today, this was the lesson to learn from today for him and for me also and we go on and then it is forgotten. That is the way so in here at Cobham, between us, between us two, between me and the team business as usual and no big thing."

Cesar Azpilicueta

, the Blues’ captain, commented on the situation as he has heard the conversation in the dressing room: "

Obviously, it is not nice to come on and be subbed after 25 or 30 minutes. That is very obvious and the manager made it clear.

"What was important was to see his reaction afterwards: it was a positive reaction. I am sure he will get better; he will get stronger. He is a young lad.

"When you face these kinds of situations, the most important thing is the reaction and straight away, the next day in training, the manager said the incident was over, he talked through it and that was it. Now we have another challenge.

"Callum is a strong boy. I am sure he will get better. He is a very important player for us, as we saw in the recent games, he has played every game under the new manager."

Chelsea have many players at their disposal, except for

Thiago Silva

who is out of action due to a calf muscle injury.

Tuchel said: "

He is not available. He is training right now while we are leaving in the next minutes, so he did not do training with the squad and is not available."

He also revealed that Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz will be back: "I am very happy that both of them are in the group and they trained with us and have no complaints. I am happy they travel with us and are in the squad for tomorrow."

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