Jose Mourinho Confirms Double Injury Boost Ahead Of Arsenal Clash

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Diego Costa and Gary Cahill are both fit and available for Sunday’s Community Shield against Arsenal.

The Premier League champions take on the FA Cup winners in this seasons curtain raiser at Wembley on Sunday afternoon and the Chelsea duo were doubts for the game.

Costa started up front against Barcelona in their friendly on Tuesday night but was forced off after 60 minutes having picked up yet another hamstring problem.

The Spanish international was plagued by hamstring issues throughout the whole of last season so it was understandable that Chelsea were playing it cautious when he pulled-up holding the back of his leg again.

Cahill also picked up an injury against the European champions in midweek after suffering a suspected broken nose following a clash with goalkeeper Jordi Masip when heading the equaliser during the 2-2 draw.

Mourinho told Chelseafc.com after the game that if the nose was broken, Cahill may still be able to play on Sunday with a protective mask, but there was still some doubt over his availability.

However, the Blues have been handed a major double boost as Mourinho has confirmed this afternoon that both Costa and Cahill are fit and available to take on Arsenal this weekend.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference today, the Portuguese coach revealed the good news but it remains to be seen whether both players will be selected from the start.

Cahill will most likely play, possibly with a face mask, but I’d still be surprised if Mourinho risked Costa from the start. This is still a fairly meaningless game so it would be an unnecessary risk to start the striker given his long history of hamstring problems. The last thing they want to do is aggravate it before the season has even started.

Jose Mourinho says Diego Costa and Gary Cahill are both available for Sunday's game. #CFC

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 31, 2015