Blues face two-day wait for news on Eto’o

Chelsea expect to wait 48 hours to discover the extent of an injury Samuel Eto’o suffered during the Champions League defeat against Basel.

Schalke’s draw with Steaua Bucharest meant the Blues went through to the knockout stage despite losing in Switzerland, where Eto’o was carried off on a stretcher shortly before half-time with an apparent groin problem.

Eto’o was hurt while stretching for the ball and with only two other out-and-out strikers – Fernando Torres and Demba Ba – in the squad, Chelsea will be hoping the Cameroon star does not face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Eto’o will undergo a scan and only then will the club know the extent of the damage. He looks certain to be unavailable for Sunday’s Premier League match against Southampton.

“He has a muscular injury,” said manager Jose Mourinho.

“We have to wait two days – we have to do scans. I don’t know the dimension of it yet.”

Mourinho, who made only one change to the side which won at West Ham on Saturday, suggested his players were jaded against a Basel team that caused them major problems.

And he indicated that he intends to make significant changes for the Southampton game.

He said: “We will make decisions but it’s not a question of punishment. It’s a question of using the squad and the options we have.”

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