Antonio Conte admits he was "scared" that David Luiz had suffered a serious injury as a result of Sergio Aguero's red card tackle in the closing stages of Chelsea's 3-1 win over Manchester City last Saturday.

Aguero caught Luiz on the knee with a frustrated lunge in the final seconds of a fiery match at the Etihad Stadium, sparking a mass brawl between Chelsea and City players that resulted in referee Anthony Taylor dismissing both the Argentine striker and teammate Fernandinho.

Luiz refused to condemn Aguero's actions even as he wore an ice pack on his knee while fulfilling his postmatch media duties, but Conte says he feared for his defender's well-being after seeing replays of the challenge.

"I have to check tomorrow if David Luiz is able to play on Sunday [against West Brom] because, after this tackle ... this tackle was very bad," Conte revealed.

"I have to check on his recovery from his injury. Tomorrow will be very important for him and for me to decide whether he's able to play. That tackle was dangerous, for sure. I watched the images and I was afraid [he might be injured]. I was scared."

Luiz has impressed at the heart of a three-man Chelsea defence that has conceded just twice during an eight-match winning run in the Premier League, and appeared to allay fears that he could miss Sunday's match against West Brom by posting a video of himself doing running and jumping drills on his official Instagram account on Friday.

Aside from persistent problems affecting captain John Terry and Kurt Zouma's lengthy rehabilitation from a serious knee injury, Chelsea's key players have so far avoided significant fitness issues -- a reality that has allowed Conte to keep faith with a small pool of starters during the winning run that has propelled the club to the top of the Premier League.

Asked about Chelsea's impressive injury record this season, Conte said: "I'm pleased. In a season it's very important if you are able to avoid muscular problems. Traumatic problems are very difficult to avoid, but to avoid muscular problems is important.

"I have my method, my philosophy with my staff, and we continue to work with our methods. We used in previous experiences with the [Italy] national team, with Juventus, with Siena ... my experience.

"I continue to use these methods because I think I had experience from my career as a footballer, and now as a manager, and it's important that you tried this type of work [yourself].

"The statistics are important. To check, for example, during games or training sessions [how players are physically]. But I think the most important thing for me is my eye. My eyes. Because it's important to understand, to look if some players are more tired than others, if someone is a bit lazy or not ... you can push. It's important. The eyes, in my work, in my job, are very important."

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by Liam Twomey

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