Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has accepted an apology from Romelu Lukaku for comments he made in a television interview, with the star striker now available for Wednesday’s English League Cup semi-final first leg clash against Tottenham Hotspur. 

Lukaku, who returned to the Blues for a club record £98 million ($132 million) in August after two successful seasons with Inter Milan, was dropped from Tuchel’s squad for last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Premier League title rivals Liverpool. In an interview with Sky Italy, recorded in mid-December but only aired last week, Lukaku revealed he would like to return to Inter in the near future. Tuchel told a pre-match news conference. “He apologised and is back in the squad for today’s [Tuesday’s] training.”