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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has explained the reason behind Tammy Abraham's absence for the FA Cup final on Saturday.
The England international has struggled for playing time since March, managing just 17 minutes across two appearances.
He was not named in the matchday squad for the final against Leicester City, where the Blues lost by a 1-0 scoreline.
Speaking in Monday's press conference, Tuchel said that the decision to leave out Abraham was tactical with the options at hand.
Timo Werner was chosen to lead the line, and Tuchel emphasised that he had two number nines in Kai Havertz and Olivier Giroud on the bench.
He told football.london: "Well it's just the amount of people that I can nominate for a game. I decided to start Timo Werner in the number nine role."
"So we had Kai Havertz and Olivier Giroud on the bench, so we decided not to have three number nines on the bench. This is it, it's never personal."
Abraham has been linked with a possible summer exit from the Blues amid interest from West Ham United and Aston Villa.
The Blues value him at around £36 million, but the price tag could be lowered with the striker's lack of playing time in recent months.
Written by Sri Aswin
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