Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel admitted that dropping forward Tammy Abraham from the clash against Manchester United was a hard decision for him.
The striker was not part of the 18-man squad as the Blues played out a goalless draw with United in the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.
It was the fourth time that Abraham has not featured for the London side in February, having been left on the bench against Tottenham, Sheffield United and in the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.
"It was a hard decision. It was about judging the alternatives that we have and we opted for Olivier Giroud to begin, Timo Werner on the bench. We have Kai Havertz who can play as a number nine so there was no need to bring a fourth number nine to the pitch," Goal.com quoted Tuchel as saying.
"Things are difficult for him. Things are not as easy as they should be for him in the moment and he will get full support. This was the decision," he added.
Tuchel admitted that it is a tough time for the 23-year-old striker but said there was no place for him in the team this time around.
"Selection. We have 21 strong players and only 18 possible [to be picked]. It is my job to take hard decisions. This was the decision for 18 guys and Tammy was not with the group," the Blues manager said.
"At the moment he is only struggling with my decision. We have a strong squad. We have only Thiago Silva injured that means we have to make hard decisions. We can nominate 18 players, plus goalkeepers so it is clear. It was also an unfair decision for Billy Gilmour because Billy played well in the cup and he was very strong in training," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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