Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has given his backing to centre-backs Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma, with captain John Terry unlikely to play at Tottenham on Sunday.
Terry is a major doubt for the trip to White Hart Lane after suffering an ankle injury in the Champions League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
Zouma and Cahill have played together five times this season but not since the defeat by Porto at the end of September.
However, Mourinho insists he has confidence in selecting the pair if Terry is not fit to face Spurs.
He said: “I have complete trust in Cahill and Zouma. That’s why on Tuesday [against Maccabi] I left Zouma out, after good performances, to play Gary and to show Gary that confidence. So they are ready.
“I’m not saying [Papy] Djilobodji is ready, because he hasn’t had chances to play, it’s a different situation.
“But Zouma and Gary are both ready – if John doesn’t play we go with Zouma and Gary.”
Mourinho has also shrugged off speculation linking Chelsea with possible attempt to sign Tottenham’s England striker Harry Kane.
He said: “These are stories that start on 1 September when the market closed. And they will get more and more when January comes.
“I know which players are possible, I know which players are impossible. But I’m not focused on the market. We are all focused on doing our job the best we can with the players we have.”
This post was last modified on 27/11/2015