The Moroccan winger had given the Champions League holders a deserved lead over Europa League counterparts Villarreal three minutes shy of the half-hour mark at Windsor Park, but then sustained a nasty-looking right shoulder injury prior to half-time following a collision with former Tottenham defender Juan Foyth.
Ziyech received oxygen and treatment on the pitch and the shoulder was supported by a member of Chelsea’s medical staff as he was replaced by Christian Pulisic before half-time, later returning to the stands and attending the post-match celebrations on the pitch with his arm in a sling.
The Blues eventually outlasted LaLiga outfit Villarreal 6-5 on penalties in front of 13,000 returning fans in the Northern Irish capital, with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga – who replaced Edouard Mendy late in extra time with the shootout in mind – crucially saving Raul Albiol’s spot-kick.
However, the injury sustained by Ziyech took some of the shine off an otherwise memorable night for Chelsea, who open their 2021/22 Premier League campaign with a London derby against Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
“If you take a player out during the first half it’s serious,” Tuchel told BT Sport.
“We overused some players who were absolutely not ready to play 120 minutes and have only two days in between this and the next match with Crystal Palace so that absolutely does not help us.
“We came (to Belfast) with so many players who did not even play a friendly match so far so this is the situation – we have to adapt and we have to, in our mindset, be as ready as we can be to do our very best.”
