Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, will not include Mikel Obi in the squad that will face Everton at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, saying the Nigerian has yet to recover from the knee injury he sustained in his last outing.
Mikel was a 73rd minute substitute for Oscar in their Saturday’s game against Aston Villa, but he only managed to finish the game despite the knock.
While Mikel will be missed, the team will welcome back Cesc Fabregas, who recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in a Capital One Cup semi-final victory over Liverpool last month
“We have only Mikel injured, with a little problem in his knee,” Mourinho said on the club’s website. “He’s the only one who’s not in conditions to play.
“After that we have a couple of little things that we have to control until tomorrow (Wednesday) but normally [they are] not a problem.
“Yes, (Fabregas) will be (back). I want to have every player but the team played without him and we coped with the situation. Obviously to have him back is important for us.
“We don’t have the player (Diego Costa) that is suspended. We have to stick with Didier (Drogba) and Loic Remy. Again, we need the suspended player but we coped without him and we got results without him.
“With him it could have been even better, but I trust my people; we always decide not to speak about players that cannot play. We try to forget it and give confidence to the other people.”
Meanwhile, Mikel has admitted the team will remain strong as long as Willian and Eden Hazard are available. He identified the duo as the most skilful at Stamford Bridge.
“I’ll go for Willian and Eden Hazard,” he said. “They’re both very quick and technical. It’s very difficult to get the ball off them. Willian is just too quick, he has quick feet. He waits for you to make the first move and when you do, he’s gone.
“Hazard doesn’t run around much in training, but you just give him the ball and let him do what he does. What you can do sometimes is just kick them.”