London - Jose Mourinho claims Chelsea are ‘in trouble’ as they battle with fatigue ahead of their trip to face Shrewsbury in the Capital One Cup.
The Chelsea boss is furious that his team have been forced to return from Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United to play again just 48 hours later.
Mourinho’s weary players flew back to London Gatwick at 8pm on Sunday after the Old Trafford clash and were back in for a recovery session at their Cobham base on Monday.
After training, they made the 170-mile journey by bus to Shrewsbury to prepare for Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup tie against Micky Mellon’s League Two team.
Mourinho, irritated by the TV scheduling, said: ‘We are in trouble because we have so many injured players and that makes it even more difficult for us.
‘We have only one day to prepare. We now have a difficult match because they are doing very well in their league and doing very well against superior teams in the Capital One Cup. It’s a big day for them. We know it will be difficult for us. But that’s football.
‘Shrewsbury in the Capital One Cup is not a friendly. We have to play matches with respect and the best way to respect Shrewsbury is to go there with a good team; not to go there with a weak team and lose.
‘If they win, they win, but they win against a good team. We are in a difficult situation but when you look at the players who didn’t play, (Andre) Schurrle, (Mohamed) Salah, (Kurt) Zouma, (Nathan) Ake, (John Obi) Mikel, these boys are obviously going to have to play.’
Mourinho’s injury list includes Spain striker Diego Costa - expected to return for Saturday’s clash with QPR at Stamford Bridge in the Barclays Premier League - and fellow forward Loic Remy.
Although Didier Drogba, who scored Chelsea’s goal against United, is an option, Mourinho is tempted to play Schurrle (left) in the main striking role.
The German World Cup winner’s chances in the first team have been limited this season, but Mourinho will use him this evening.
Costa has been given extra time to rest after Mourinho admitted he wasn’t fit to travel to United because of his persistent groin problem.
Mourinho added: ‘The virus is fine.
‘It was hard when he went to hospital and it obviously doesn’t him help to recover from the injury. But he didn’t go to United because of the injury, not because of the virus.
‘He aggravated the hamstrings because he played two matches in three days (with Spain) and was not with us.’
Mourinho will give opportunities to younger players at Greenhous Meadow and is considering giving 19-year-old Lewis Baker some first-team experience in the fourth-round tie.
The Chelsea manager added: ‘Baker has a long way to go but he has the potential.
‘That’s why he is a Chelsea player. We are sure that he will be a good player.’
Daily Mail