Mourinho optimistic over Drogba’s fitness

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes Didier Drogba could yet feature in the Blues’ Premier League opener at Burnley.

Drogba, who this summer returned for a second spell at the club, limped off with an ankle injury during Sunday’s friendly against Ferencvaros.

But scans have revealed that the problem is not serious, and the Ivorian striker is hoping to make a quick return to action.

“He’s good. I don’t want to say ready for Monday, but with the quality of our medical department and the mentality he has, I’m not saying it’s impossible for him to recover for Monday,” Mourinho said.

Drogba went off after half an hour of the game in Hungary.
Drogba went off after half an hour of the game in Hungary.

Mourinho was speaking after his team rounded off their pre-season with a 2-0 win against Spanish side Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge.

Summer signing Diego Costa scored twice on his home debut, giving an immediate demonstration of why Mourinho was so keen to bring him to west London from Atletico Madrid.

Fellow new arrivals Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis also caught the eye on an encouraging night for Chelsea ahead of the new campaign.

Costa was hugely impressive on his home debut for Chelsea
Costa was hugely impressive on his home debut for Chelsea

“Diego is a team player who works hard – he’s not just about the goals,” said the Portuguese.

“It’s about his defensive work, mentality and ambition. This is the player we bought and we were waiting for since last season. This is why we didn’t buy a striker in the winter market.

“We were waiting for him, we have him and hopefully everything goes well. He looks like he has adapted to the team.

“I very much like the squad. The club were fantastic because they gave me the three targets I asked for.

“We have the squad we wanted to have. It’s a squad for tomorrow, for next season, and also with big possibilities for the next five to 10 years.”

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