Chelsea Team News: Hiddink Rules Out Duo But Confirms Attacker Will Start

Chelsea will be looking to continue their resurgent form when they take on Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

Ahead of the game, Guus Hiddink has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this morning and he’s given Chelseafc.com a team news and injury update.

The Dutch boss confirmed that John Terry will once again miss out this weekend as the skipper continues to work his way back to full fitness following a niggling hamstring injury.

Terry has already missed the last four matches having suffered the injury against Newcastle last month but Hiddink says the defender is working hard on the training pitch trying to get himself fit for next week’s huge Champions League second leg with PSG.

In a double blow, Pedro has also been ruled out of the Stoke game with a hamstring problem that’s plagued him in recent games but like Terry, the Brazilian attacker is fighting to make himself available for the PSG tie next Wednesday.

With such an important game on the horizon, many have called for Hiddink to rest key striker Diego Costa this weekend. The Blues boss has admitted he’s being careful not to overload the Brazilian-born hitman but insists he’ll still start against Stoke – although he may not complete the full ninety minutes.

Hiddink is quoted as saying by the Chelsea website:

‘He’s [Terry] not fit to start this weekend. He’s with the physios and he’s also training but he’s not with the group yet. We’ll see how it goes for Wednesday.

‘Pedro is the same. He hasn’t practised with the group yet. He is getting treatment but also running and exercising on the pitch.’

‘He [Costa] is in perfect physical shape, but we also must be careful not to overload him in games. We monitor them with the data of the medical team and I can make some conclusions from that.

‘We are living in an emotional world but sometimes you have to be rational as well. I talk with him about his physical state, which is superb. There is always a danger of him doing too much, and if I share the figures with him he can be rational as well. We must let him go but sometimes I must put him on a leash.

‘He wants to play every game. It’s difficult to put a brake on him. Tomorrow he will start but maybe he will not play the full game.’

With Terry still out we should expect Branislav Ivanovic to continue alongside Gary Cahill in the heart of defence as Chelsea head in to the weekend action looking to secure their fourth consecutive league win and boost their hopes of making a late push for the top four.