Soccer-Chelsea pushing to have Mount fit for League Cup final - Tuchel

(Reuters) - Chelsea's Mason Mount injured ankle ligaments during the Club World Cup final and the midfielder is looking to return in time for the League Cup final later this month, manager Thomas Tuchel said on Friday.

Mount was taken off half an hour into Chelsea's extra-time victory over Palmeiras in Abu Dhabi, dealing a blow to Tuchel's side as they return to Premier League action for the first time in nearly a month.

The 23-year-old has been crucial to Chelsea's campaign with seven goals and eight assists in all competitions. Chelsea play Liverpool in the League Cup final on Feb. 27.

"We will push for the League Cup final. We will push, he has injured ligaments," Tuchel told reporters ahead of Saturday's London derby at Crystal Palace in the league.

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku scored twice at the Club World Cup but has only netted five times in the league while German forward Kai Havertz has only two league goals, but Tuchel said they must be patient.

"We demand a lot of our strikers in terms of intensity, so there are reasons why things are maybe like this. There are teams who rely on one goal scorer, that's no secret, but there are teams who rely on more shoulders," Tuchel said.

"So both ways work and we want to bring Romelu into better situations, it's an ongoing process. We still have trust because he's proved at previous clubs he's the guy who gets the last touch on attacks."

On Havertz, Tuchel said: "If we isolate the goal scoring, then yeah, we expect more and he expects more. But the consistency in what he has given the team, he has stepped up... He has stepped up twice in big matches, in big moments, and this can only be good for his development."

Tuchel also said Reece James suffered a setback in his