Chelsea: Radamel Falcao and Thibaut Courtois only absentees ahead of Maccabi Tel-Aviv clash

Radamel Falcao has not travelled with the Chelsea squad ahead of their Champions League clash with Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Thibaut Courtois is the only other absentee from the club's Champions League squad as he continues his recovery after undergoing knee surgery in September.

Otherwise, manager Jose Mourinho has a fully fit squad to choose from for the group tie in Israel on 24 November, as confirmed by the club. Falcao has not played since the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on 21 October after suffering a muscular problem, with his manager expecting him to be ruled out for a "couple of weeks". Courtois, meanwhile, has returned to training and is on course for the December return predicted by both himself and his manager.

Chelsea cruised to a 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv in their home clash back in September but have not had things all their own way in Group G. The Blues currently sit in second place three points behind group leaders Porto.

A 2-1 win over Dynamo Kiev in their last group game in November lifted the club into second place at the expense of the Ukrainian champions. While that result eased some of the pressure on the club in their European campaign, the Blues have already seen their attempts to defend their Premier League crown practically ended, with Chelsea 14 points behind league leaders Leicester City.

A 1-0 win over Norwich City provided some respite for Mourinho's beleaguered side, though, and the Blues boss still feels his side can climb the table and ensure they qualify for next season's Champions League.

"Fourth position for me is not an impossible mission. If you ask me the title I would say impossible mission," Mourinho said after the win on 21 November," Sky Sports reports. "Maybe Tom Cruise can do it [but] it's complicated because you have to recover points from four candidates. But to grab one of the [teams] that go up and will also have a little bit of a collapse... the fourth position is a difficult position but a possible target."