clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Costa in, Ramires and Drogba out against Arsenal

Jamie McDonald

Jose Mourinho gave us some injury updates on Friday, ahead of the big Arsenal clash on Sunday at Stamford Bridge. The biggest question for most fans ahead of this one was the condition of Diego Costa, and Mourinho had the following to say about the Premier League's leading scorer.

'My reaction to the news that he’s in the Spanish squad is to have no reaction because it’s something I could already imagine. It’s not a surprise for me. Can he play three matches in a week? I think it’s too much, but he’s going to do that. And why is he going to do that? Because I’m not going to save him to be in perfect condition for the national team.'

'This week we have three very important matches. The Champions League match was crucial for us after a bad result at home. We needed that victory away so I had to go with everything and everybody. It is an important match against Arsenal, and being the last one with that busy period with the club, he plays.'

'He had the match in Lisbon, he will have had these four days in between, so he will be in an okay condition. What happens in the 15 days after that [with his national team] is not my responsibility.'

While Costa will likely become one of Arsenal fans' least favorite players in very short order, two others that have built themselves quite a reputation won't be in action Sunday. Both Ramires and traditional Arsenal killer Didier Drogba will be out of action Sunday, meaning that Loic Remy will likely make the bench, while Cesc Fabregas will almost certainly start next to Nemanja Matic in the pivot.

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the We Ain't Got No History Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of Chelsea news from We Ain't Got No History