Cahill fine and Mourinho praises Zouma

Jose Mourinho allayed fears over the head injury picked up by Chelsea defender Gary Cahill in the 3-0 win over Tottenham.

The centre-back received treatment after a clash of heads with Jan Vertonghen early in the match and looked out of sorts for the rest of the first half, before being replaced at the break by Kurt Zouma.

However, Mourinho said Cahill did not have concussion or blurred vision – and the Blues boss praised Zouma after another encouraging display by the youngster.

Mourinho said: “He’s okay. There is no concussion, no need of special care, he was just feeling afraid of heading the ball.

“When a player is a bit afraid, it’s not good. It was a good opportunity for Zouma under pressure.

“He [Zouma] is playing very well every time he plays, but today was a real test.

“I’m happy with his evolution since he arrived. He will be a big player for Chelsea for many years.”

Mourinho was also delighted with the way his side dealt with the absence of talismanic striker Diego Costa, who was suspended for the match.

He said: “Our mentality is the right mentality. If we don’t have a player we don’t cry about it. It gives confidence to the others and they responded in the best way.

“Didier Drogba did very well, Loic Remy the same, but I prefer to speak about the team, in a very difficult match, against a Tottenham team that were better than us in the first 20 minutes.

“After we scored, we managed the game in the best way. It was an important victory against a good team.”

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