Bayer 04 Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand has revealed that Super Eagles winger Nathan Tella will be unavailable for his side's Champions League clash against PSG tonight, Soccernet.ng reports.
The pacy, versatile winger hasn't featured for Die Werkself since their victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in September.
The former Burnley man suffered a knee bruise, but it is taking longer than usual for the 26-year-old to return to full recovery.
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According to beIN Sports, five Leverkusen players have been ruled out of the PSG fixture at the Bay Arena tonight.
Exequiel Palacios, Axel Tapsoba, Lucas Vazquez, Nathan Tella and Malik Tillmann will have to watch the match from the stands, while Patrick Schick and Jarell Quansah, currently in the recovery phase, are not sure to be available.
“We'll see for Patrick and Jarell. It's getting better and better, but we don't know yet if they can play,” Kasper Hjulmand said in his pre-match conference.
Tella to return to the pitch soon
According to the Danish coach, Tella has been working hard to get back to peak physical condition, but his recovery journey has had setbacks.
“He’s actually worked on the pitch. It's not a big issue. We observe Nathan day after day. We think it looks positive, but there have been setbacks,” the 57-year-old said in quotes revealed by BILD.
“I'm not going to talk about it in specific details, but it has become longer and more complicated than we initially thought.
“He also worked with the ball, but it was not enough for a jump into the squad at the away game in Mainz, because Tella repeatedly felt pain.
“He still couldn't train with the squad on Monday. We will see him on the pitch next week,” the former Denmark coach concluded.
