Diego Costa is confident he will be fit for Chelsea’s home game against Liverpool on Saturday despite damaging ribs on Tuesday when the holders were knocked out of the Capital One Cup at Stoke.
The forward was hurt in a clash with Charlie Adam and having attempted to play on, waved to the bench to be replaced just after the half-hour mark. Costa was immediately taken to hospital for x-rays, with the club conducting further precautionary scans at their Cobham training base.
He will need monitoring before the visit of Jürgen Klopp’s side for a game that may prove pivotal to José Mourinho’s future at Stamford Bridge. There is optimism, however, that Costa has sustained only bruising to his side and should be fit to start. A fracture would have required immediate rest and ruled him out for up to a month.
Mourinho’s side languish 15th in the Premier League after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham, having lost half of their 10 games, with the need to instigate an immediate upturn clear. Support remains within the hierarchy for a manager who won the title five months ago and who signed a four-year contract worth £8.5m-a-season in the summer. There is no real desire to cut short his second spell at the club.
But Chelsea are in desperate need of wins to get back into contention for a top-four place. Recent performances have been more encouraging even if results have been patchy, with Mourinho now seeking a third home league win of the term to offer breathing space. Cesc Fàbregas should be fit after missing the game at the Britannia Stadium with a knock. Nemanja Matic returns from a one-match suspension but Branislav Ivanovic is still struggling with a hamstring complaint.
“It’s important for him [Mourinho] to stay and we don’t want to give up,” said Loïc Rémy, who replaced Costa on Tuesday and scored a stoppage-time equaliser to force extra time. Chelsea eventually succumbed 5-4 on penalties.
“We were champions together only last season and he is a really great manager. Of course I don’t want him to leave. I think all the players don’t want that. The spirit is good and we are not affected by the situation.”
Pressure would increase on Mourinho should his side lose to Liverpool, though Chelsea would be somewhat limited in terms of choices of a successor. The futures of Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone at Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid respectively will be determined in the summer, and Carlo Ancelotti, although available, is unlikely to be open to a return to south-west London on an interim basis.
Guus Hiddink, who performed that role in 2009 at Stamford Bridge, may be more readily willing to serve on a short-term basis. “Top-class football will always be attractive,” said Hiddink, 68, who was sacked by Holland over the summer. “Lately there have been offers coming my way, but there hasn’t been anything I wanted to take up straight away. We’ll see – we’ll have to wait.”
