In-form striker Diego Costa remains doubtful for Chelsea’s Champions League game with Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.
The Spain forward showed no ill-effects from the tight hamstring he is nursing as he played 80 minutes and hit his eighth goal in seven Premier League games in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said he would like to start Costa in Portugal – but admits the striker is not training in between games.
He said: “He’s doing almost nothing. Just resting and recovering from the tight muscle he has.
“Will I start him against Sporting? I want to. But let’s see what happens.”
Mourinho said Costa would only return to full fitness if he was allowed to recover over the international break, and wasn’t selected by Spain for their Euro 2016 qualifiers next month with Slovakia and Luxembourg.
He said: “If he doesn’t go with the national team and stays here 15 days, just recovering and making the muscle and the other areas around the muscle stronger, he has the perfect chance to be top for Chelsea and top for the national team.
“But we can do nothing [if he is selected for Spain]. The moment the players are selected for the national team they belong to them and they are in their hands.”
The ultimately comfortable victory over Villa maintains Chelsea’s three-point lead at the top of the table.
And despite not hitting top gear until the last half an hour, Mourinho was full of praise for the control his side exerted on the game.
He said: “We had a couple of important chances in the first half to score again but everything was under control.
“The team was very solid. Even when the score was 1-0, I don’t remember feeling any fear.
“The second and third goal obviously kills everything but I think overall it was a very good performance.”
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This post was last modified on 29/09/2014