Incoming Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel can ESCAPE quarantine to attend matches and take training

Thomas Tuchel, who will be appointed imminently as the new Chelsea manager, will be able to avoid quarantine so he can take training and matches thanks to a special exemption in Covid rules governing elite sport.

Tuchel, who is travelling to the UK from Germany, is not currently in an elite sporting bubble and would normally be expected to face at least five days in self isolation.

However, after the abrupt and brutal sacking of Frank Lampard on Monday morning, and with Premier League matches coming thick and fast due to the shortened season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Chelsea believe they need Tuchel in the building and on the touchline as soon as possible.

The Blues face Wolverhampton Wanderers in a critical encounter at Stamford Bridge tomorrow evening before hosting Burnley on Sunday.

Sportsmail understands that the FA can apply for special exemptions for elite sports people and ancillary staff, including managers and head coaches, even if they are not part of an elite sport bubble.

Under existing rules, anyone travelling to the UK must take a coronavirus test within 72 hours of their travel to the UK and then isolate for 10 days after their arrival.  

However, under the Government’s ‘test to release’ scheme, a person can undertake a test after five days and if it is negative, they are released from quarantine.

In contrast, elite sports people can travel or return to the UK and continue to train and compete within their bubble.

But it has now emerged that ‘free agents’ can also be granted exemptions on a case-by-case basis. The Football Association, as the sports governing body, must apply to the Department for Culture Media and Sport, for the exemption.

Once granted, Tuchel would be allowed to attend Chelsea’s training sessions and matches within the first five days of his stay in England, provided he has tested negative for coronavirus.

The former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain manager would have to self-isolate when he is not in the Chelsea bubble.

Tuchel is set to arrive at a time when the UK government toughens border controls by putting new arrivals into isolation in airport hotels – a system modelled on Australia.

Government sources said the enforced quarantine regime will be introduced for British nationals returning from high-risk countries where new strains of the virus have been detected, such as South Africa and Brazil. Foreign nationals are already barred from entering the UK from these countries.

Ministers will then look to widen the compulsory hotel quarantine requirement to cover more travellers.  

Tuchel, who was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain last month following the French giants’ below-par start to the defence of their Ligue 1 title, is set to replace Lampard, who was dismissed on Monday after the Blues’ form nosedived in the Premier League. 

The west Londoners were top of the table on December 5 after beating Leeds 3-1, but five defeats in eight league games since then have led to Chelsea slipping to ninth. 

Lampard suffered a 2-0 defeat by Leicester in his last Premier League game and it proved to be the final nail in the Englishman’s coffin. 

Sunday’s FA Cup win over Luton could not prevent him becoming the 10th manager sacked during the Roman Abramovich reign since the Russian owner arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2003.