Tammy
Abraham will not be handed game time just to boost his chances of making
England's squad for the European Championship as Chelsea head coach Thomas
Tuchel told his players their personal ambitions will not sway his choices.
Abraham, 23, is Chelsea's top scorer this season with 12 goals in all
competitions, but has found himself marginalised since the arrival of German
coach Tuchel in January.
An ankle injury over the past month has added to Abraham's woes and his
hopes of making Gareth Southgate's squad for the rescheduled Euros are
steadily fading.
"I cannot make a decision on the personal goals of players," Tuchel told a
news conference ahead of Saturday's Premier League game at Crystal Palace,
which is live on Sky Sports.
"[Goalkeeper] Kepa Arrizabalaga also has the goal to play for Spain but this
can't influence my decisions. I've got to do what I believe is best for
Chelsea.
"Tammy has had a rough time. He's not had the impact we demand from him. He
then got injured and lost the possibility to play for his place. We're in
the decisive part of the season, where it's not so easy to bring injured
players into shape.
"It's up to Tammy to do everything possible. We demand a lot of him, he
demands a lot of himself."
Tuchel also said he would not lose faith in big-money signings Kai Havertz
and Timo Werner despite their recent struggles.
Havertz and Werner have failed to fire following their moves from Bayer
Leverkusen and RB Leipzig respectively and were criticised after putting in
yet another lacklustre display in Wednesday's 2-0 Champions League victory
against Porto.
"Look at the games Porto played. They make it tough," Tuchel added. "It's
not the easiest task up front but they had a big impact defensively, they
worked hard. We will not lose trust. We accept sometimes it's hard to have
an impact."
Tuchel, whose side are fifth in the table on 51 points, one point and place
behind West Ham United, said he had no major injury concerns ahead of
Saturday's clash.
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