Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Romelu Lukaku is fit to face Aston Villa, but N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic are both ruled out of the match through injury.

Lukaku required a scan on a potential thigh injury he sustained while away on international duty with Belgium, but resumed training with his Chelsea teammates on Thursday after being given the all clear.

Meanwhile, Pulisic, who suffered an ankle injury during the USA’s World Cup qualifying win against Honduras on Thursday, is expected to miss the club’s next three matches.

However, Tuchel provided some more positive news on Kante after he missed France’s recent internationals with a recurring ankle issue.

“He [Lukaku] came back two days ago. He trained yesterday and today no problem at all,” Tuchel told a press conference on Friday.

“We have two players out: N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic. N’Golo still suffers a little bit. We will try for N’Golo on Tuesday [against Zenit]. That’s looks good.”

“Christian came back yesterday on crutches. He has an ankle injury and will be out for about 10 days.”

With Kante out for Saturday’s match, it could open the door to a starting spot for deadline day signing Saul Niguez, who Tuchel said he tried to sign previously.

“Saul was on the radar for Chelsea for many years. I was fighting for him at other clubs but it wasn’t impossible,” he added.

Chelsea host Villa on the back of a solid start to the Premier League campaign after picking up seven points from a possible nine against Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Liverpool.

• A Tell / Metro report