Chelsea Team News: Mourinho Offers Injury Update Ahead Of Swansea Clash

Chelsea begin the defence of their Premier League title tomorrow when they entertain Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.

Ahead of the game, manager Jose Mourinho has been speaking to the media this afternoon and has given Chelseafc.com an update on the fitness of Diego Costa – who is his only injury concern.

Costa tweaked his hamstring during pre-season and was forced to sit out of last Sunday’s Community Shield defeat to FA Cup holders Arsenal at Wembley.

Mourinho admitted in midweek that the Spanish international’s on-going hamstring problems are a concern but insists the player isn’t to blame as he always works hard to keep himself fit.

The Blues boss wasn’t able to confirm if Costa would take part in training this evening – with Chelsea choosing to train at 5pm to try and acclimatise to playing in the evening ahead of their 5.30pm kick off tomorrow.

Mourinho has no other injury problems to contend with so the only question mark is over Costa’s involvement – but the Portuguese coach insists he doesn’t need any more strikers and he’ll go into the season with three forwards to choose from.

He told the clubs website:

‘I don’t know if Diego will train,’

‘I have Loic Remy and Falcao and I will go with them like I have done in other matches; and like I did last season many times with Remy and [Didier] Drogba. Three is the perfect number, and we have three.

‘Obviously Diego’s a top striker and everybody wants top strikers. He’s such an important player for us not just for the goals he scores but also for the football he produces and the mentality he helps create in the team.

‘I think he is going to train with the team [today]. His reaction after that and his decision to be confident to play is another story.

‘There is nobody to blame. I can’t blame the player because he works hard. I completely trust the medical department. I am calm, positive, and I believe he will be with us for many matches.

‘I prefer a top player like him who makes a real difference when he is ready than to have a player who is always available who is just a bit better than myself.’

If Costa isn’t passed fit then I expect Radamel Falcao to make his competitive debut up front. Loic Remy was ineffective against the Gunners last weekend and Falcao looked more of a danger through the middle when he was introduced in the second half.

Other than that, I think we’ll see a very similar starting eleven to the one which lined-up at Wembley. You can see our predicted Chelsea team for tomorrow’s game here.