Chelsea's Jose Mourinho on Diego Costa and Obi Mikel absences for Everton game while Cesc Fabregas returns

Jose Mourinho has claimed Chelsea have proved they can cope with the absence of suspended striker Diego Costa ahead of the next game against Everton on Wednesday 11 February while confirming Obi Mikel will also miss the fixture due to a minor injury.

The Portuguese boss also confirmed Cesc Fabregas is ready to return to action after being out since suffering a hamstring injury in the second leg of the Capital Cup semi-finals against Liverpool on 27 January.

The Blues have since secured a draw against Manchester City and victory over Aston Villa over the weekend despite being without the Spanish midfielder as well without Costa, who will miss one further game after being charged with a three-match ban by the FA with violent conduct for stamping on Emre Can in the game against Liverpool.

But Mourinho has claimed that the Blues have proved they have enough talent up-front with Loic Remy and Didier Drogba to cope without their top scorer while welcoming the return of Fabregas.

When questioned about the injury update, he said: "We have only Obi Mikel with a little problem in his knee. But he is the only one who is not in condition to play.

"Fabregas will be on the squad. I want to have every player available. The team played without him and we coped with the situation but having him back is important for us."

On the absence of Costa, he added: "We have to stick with Didier and Loic Remy.

"We need the suspended player but we coped without him and got results without him."

Speaking about his silence following Costa's charge, he said: "I just needed a bit more time to understand why my player was suspended and why some people are punished and others aren't.

"I needed a bit more time to process that. I had a lot of attention last weekend."

Meanwhile, the manager warned about the potential of Everton even though the Toffees are 12<sup>th in the table, 29 points behind them.

"I don't look to the table or points, they're a good team."