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Mourinho facing injury crisis
2014-10-29 17:25:11


Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says Chelsea's mounting injury problems, coupled with an intensifying fixture list, have left his side "in trouble".

Mourinho was without several of his first-team stars, including Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Ramires, for Sunday's 1-1 draw with Manchester United and indicated he may have to rely on fringe players for Tuesday's League Cup trip to Shrewsbury.

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

"It is even more difficult for us to go. We have 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. We know it will be difficult for us but that's football.

"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 - [Andre] Schürrle, [Mohamed] Salah, [Kurt] Zouma, [Nathan] Aké, [John Obi] Mikel - these boys are obviously going to have to play."

The injury crisis appears to have hit Chelsea hardest up front. Remy is set to be sidelined for two weeks with a groin injury while Costa has missed Chelsea's last three fixtures through injury and illness. Didier Drogba, at 36, may find Tuesday's clash comes a day too soon having played the full 90 minutes at Old Trafford.

But it is Costa's situation that has frustrated Mourinho the most, with the Chelsea manager blaming Spain coach Vincente del Bosque for the striker's recent injury troubles.

Costa has been troubled with a hamstring problem for some time, but Mourinho believes it was exacerbated by Del Bosque, who fielded the forward for back-to-back games against Slovakia and Luxembourg at the start of October.

The 26-year-old also suffered from a cold in the build-up to Sunday's match, but Mourinho said: "The virus is fine. It was hard, he had to go to the hospital and obviously it doesn't help him to recover from his injury. But he didn't play on Sunday because of the injury, not because of the virus.

"Diego has the hamstring [problem] because he played two matches in three days when he was not with us."

Mourinho voiced his concern over a lack of communication with Del Bosque and other national coaches earlier this month and the problem has remained a concern.

When asked whether he hoped Costa's injury problems were now over, Mourinho replied: "But he still has [to play for] the national team in November!"

However, asked if Costa would be fit for Saturday's Premier League clash with QPR, Mourinho replied: "I think so."



















 ESPN
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