Cesar Azpilicueta will sit out Chelsea’s game at Swansea on Saturday but his groin injury is not as serious as was initially feared.
The full-back went off after 37 minutes of the Blues’ win against Newcastle at the weekend but is expected to return to training next week.
“The injury is less than we thought,” boss Jose Mourinho explained.
“He was intelligent to understand that the big injury was coming and he stopped.
“I think next week he will be training with the team again, but he will not play tomorrow.”
Mourinho also confirmed that Thibaut Courtois is available for selection although the goalkeeper has been nursing a finger problem he picked up during the recent 5-3 defeat at Tottenham.
“He had a problem with his finger against Tottenham but if we need him to play he is ready to play,” said Mourinho, who brought Petr Cech in to replace Courtois for the Newcastle game.
“I’m not saying he is 100%, but how many players are 100% to play football during the season? Not many. There is always a pain here and a pain there.
“I have the two best goalkeepers in the Premier League. Against Newcastle it was very simple. Who is the better goalkeeper, Petr Cech at 100% or Thibaut Courtois at 85%?”
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This post was last modified on 16/01/2015