It’s been a dramatic start to 2022 for Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel and Romelu Lukaku, but it seems that their troubles have now been put behind them as the Belgian was brought back into the side.
Lukaku was involved in a shock interview with Sky Italia that was aired on New Year’s Eve, which saw the summer signing question Tuchel’s system as well as admitting that he’d like to return to Inter Milan.
Tuchel took the decision to withdraw Lukaku from the Chelsea squad ahead of their crunch clash against Liverpool, sparking speculation about his future at the club.
However, after Lukaku issued an apology he was brought back into the side that beat Tottenham 2-0 on Wednesday, and the pair were captured sharing a touching moment at full-time.
Within the space of just a few days, both the future’s of Lukaku and Tuchel have been questioned as fall-outs at Chelsea rarely end well, but it seems that this incident is an anomaly as the pair made up with a hug following the full-time whistle.
Lukaku was fined a weeks wages following his controversial interview, and Tuchel plunged the club record signing straight back into the starting line-up after the Belgian issued an apology to the fans.
The Chelsea boss even laughed off the incident in his post-match press conference, as he said: “Romelu rested himself for the last game.
“I’m absolutely happy. I was pretty sure he was not affected, the last few days he seemed relaxed and fine with the situation. Also, mentally, he’d moved on. Romelu can handle pressure and adversity. And it was a good performance.
Lukaku apologised to those he had hurt with his comments on Tuesday, as he told Chelsea TV: “To the fans I’m sorry for the upset I caused. You know the connection I’ve had to this club since my teenage years, so I totally understand you guys being upset.
“It’s up to me now to restore your trust and I’ll do my best to show commitment every day on the training ground and to try and win games. To the manager I apologise and also to my team-mates and the board because it was not the right moment.
“I want to move forward and start winning football games. I totally understand [why the fans are upset]. I should’ve been much clearer in my message to be totally honest.
“The interview was about saying goodbye to the Inter fans, it was not about trying to disrespect the fans and the football club, the owner, my team-mates and the manager.”
And following the apology, Tuchel threw him back into the team, and urged the striker to show his gratitude to the Chelsea fans by producing on the field, as the Chelsea boss looks to move on.
Tuchel said: “He feels the responsibility to clean the mess up. Maybe we will have a bit of smell from it still, of course.
“He can handle it. He has no choice. He cannot expect now everybody to be super happy the very next day.
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