Mourinho Offers Team News Update: Striker Fit For Arsenal But Star Could Miss Out

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Didier Drogba is fit to face Arsenal but Diego Costa faces a late fitness test.

The Blues were facing a striker crisis earlier in the week after Drogba was forced to pull out of a charity game after picking up an ankle injury.

The Ivory Coast international has played every minute of Chelsea’s last two games with Diego Costa and Loic Remy both out injured, so the Blues were sweating on the fitness of the trio.

Mourinho decided to withdraw young forward Dominic Solanke from under-21 duty last night as a precaution as he faced up to the possibility of being without his three first choice strikers.

However, the Portuguese coach confirmed at his press conference this afternoon that Drogba is not fit and available for the trip to the Emirates this Sunday.

Costa, on the other hand, will face a late fitness test after missing wins over QPR and Man Utd with a niggling hamstring injury, while Loic Remy remains out with a calf problem that he suffered earlier this month.

Mourinho told reporters:

“Didier for sure is fine, Remy is out for sure and with Diego we will make a decision tomorrow,”

“Diego is a very important player for us but the reality is we are coping with the difficulty of every match without him.

“The team is adapting to play in a different way. In the last period we are more strategic and less artistic but we are getting results.”

“Because we are not sure about him we decided Solanke would not play with the under-21s. So Didier and Solanke will be in the squad or Didier and Diego if we decide on that tomorrow.

“I would love Diego to be back but we trust other people.”

Chelsea are unlikely to take any risks with Costa after he broke down just 13 minutes after rushing back from his last hamstring injury, so I expect him to be named on the bench at best on Sunday.

This means Drogba is likely to lead the line up front and he’ll look to continue his excellent goal-scoring record against the Gunners, with the 37-year-old managing 15 goals in 15 matches against the North Londoners.

Chelsea go into the game holding a ten-point lead over second-placed Arsenal with six games remaining, so they can take a giant leap towards reclaiming the title if they come away from the Emirates with all three points this weekend.