says striker is lacking the necessary fitness to start matches regularly but he could feature from the start against on Wednesday.
The Belgian has lost his place to Kai Havertz in recent months after a controversial interview in December in which Lukaku criticised Tuchel’s tactics and hinted he already wanted to leave Chelsea.
The pair have repaired their relationship since then but Havertz’s form has kept Lukaku out of the starting XI.
Lukaku had been expected to start against Crystal Palace on Sunday but he was again overlooked for Havertz and the former Manchester United striker missed a sitter when he came on.
But Tuchel says the rebirth of Timo Werner in recent weeks has shown Lukaku that he can win back his place, starting with the possibility of starting against Arsenal on Wednesday.
‘I don’t think he [Lukaku] really needs inspiration,’ said Tuchel.
‘What he needs is maybe that one moment, that one spark. I told you that he would normally be a natural starter against Crystal Palace in terms of the minutes that Kai Havertz has played now and the physicality that Kai gives to matches but after period of injury he [Lukaku] lacks simply this stiffness and the fitness for matches, which is not pointing the finger it’s just a fact. It’s not his fault.
‘It’s a crucial time of season where you need rhythm. If you see our matches between Brentford and Real Madrid and between Real Madrid and Southampton you can see in that short period of time what huge amount of effort we put in to become a winning team.
‘It goes from there and as I said Romelu should have had a goal against Real Madrid but he was missing the luck. He is an option if he starts. We need all he has. Maybe he can’t play 90 minutes but maybe everything in 60 minutes.’
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