Samuel Eto'o gave Jose Mourinho a fitness boost ahead of
Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Eto'o, who has been out for two weeks with a hamstring
injury, was fit enough to train on Monday morning and offer a glimmer of hope.
He trotted out onto the pitch at Chelsea's training base
in Surrey with the rest of the squad but trained separately with assistant first-team
coach Rui Faria.
Eto'o focused on jogging and stretching as his team-mates
embarked on a more energetic session but the mere fact he was able to pull on
his boots and train will lift Mourinho.
Chelsea trail 3-1 at the half-way stage of the tie and
need goals at Stamford Bridge. A 2-0 win will be enough to take the Londoners
into the last four on the away-goals ruling, but PSG have such a wealth of
attacking talent that it will not be easy to keep them out, even though captain
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is injured.
Eto'o, 33, has won the European Cup three times – twice
with Barcelona and once with Mourinho at Inter Milan – and has been the most
potent of Chelsea's three recognised centre-forwards this season.
Eto'o focused on jogging and stretching as his team-mates
embarked on a more energetic session but the mere fact he was able to pull on
his boots and train will lift Mourinho.
Chelsea trail 3-1 at the half-way stage of the tie and
need goals at Stamford Bridge. A 2-0 win will be enough to take the Londoners
into the last four on the away-goals ruling, but PSG have such a wealth of
attacking talent that it will not be easy to keep them out, even though captain
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is injured.
Eto'o, 33, has won the European Cup three times – twice
with Barcelona and once with Mourinho at Inter Milan – and has been the most
potent of Chelsea's three recognised centre-forwards this season.
He has scored 11 goals, all of them at Stamford Bridge,
since signing on a free transfer from Anzhi Makhachkala and was looking
especially sharp in front of goal when he twanged a hamstring during the 6-0
win against Arsenal, last month.
Mourinho will give Eto'o every chance to prove his
fitness before kick-off, even if he is unable to play for 90 minutes.
If he is forced to rule out the Cameroonian, he is
expected to reluctantly turn to Fernando Torres to lead the line.
Torres was left on the bench in the first leg, last week,
when the Chelsea boss complained about his lack of attacking options and
preferred to start with winger Andre Schurrle up front. The other option is
Demba Ba, who has rarely started this season and is clearly not rated by
Mourinho.
Mourinho also has complications in midfield, where
Ramires is suspended and Nemanja Matic is ineligible. Mohamed Salah is also
ineligible.
Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel, who has not played for
the first team since damaging cruciate ligaments in September, is also back in
training and could be a contender to return to the squad. He has played three
times for the U21s since his injury.
Nathan Ake and Tomas Kalas, unused substitutes in Paris last
week, also trained with the first team today.
Culled from Daily Mail
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