Soccer

Chelsea are ‘in trouble’ because of injury list, says José Mourinho

Manager fretting over Chelsea injury crisis before Shrewsbury game

Chelsea Manager José Mourinho: ‘Shrewsbury is not a friendly. We have to play matches with respect and the best way to respect Shrewsbury is to go there with a good team.’ Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Chelsea Manager José Mourinho: ‘Shrewsbury is not a friendly. We have to play matches with respect and the best way to respect Shrewsbury is to go there with a good team.’ Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Jamie Jackson
Tue Oct 28 2014 - 01:01

José

Mourinho admits Chelsea are "in trouble" because of mounting injury problems. He hopes to have Diego Costa back for Saturday's Premier League home game against QPR, but he pointed to injuries to Ramires and Loïc Rémy, plus the short turnaround between Sunday's game at Manchester United and today's Capital One Cup trip to Shrewsbury, as evidence of the difficulties he faces.

Injured players

“I have only one day, we travel to London and we are travelling to Shrewsbury. We are in trouble because we have so many injured players,” he said.

“It is even more difficult for us to go. We now have a difficult match. Because they are doing very well in their league and doing very well against superior teams in the Capital One Cup. It’s a big day for them . . .

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“Every game is important. Shrewsbury is not a friendly. We have to play matches with respect and the best way to respect Shrewsbury is to go there with a good team. Not to go there with a weak team and lose. It is to go there with a good team – if they win, they win, but they win against a good team.

“We are in a difficult situation with regards to today but, when you look at the players who didn’t play – Schurrle, Salah, Zouma, Ake, Mikel – these boys are obviously going to have to play.”

Andre Schürrle is likely to play as the lone striker against Shrewsbury because Rémy is out for two weeks with a groin injury and Costa is hampered by a hamstring complaint.

Playing Drogba

Didier Drogba

played the full 90 minutes against United and, at 36, might struggle to feature again so soon.

Costa's fitness problems are of most concern to Mourinho. The Spain forward, who has been troubled by the niggling injury all season, was in hospital with a stomach virus last week but also has a groin strain apparently picked up on international duty. He has failed to train properly since returning to London after Spain's Euro 2016 qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg, in which he played all but eight minutes.

His return for Saturday’s derby would come as a big boost.

Guardian Service