Jose Mourinho says he still doesn't know if Diego Costa is fit to start for Chelsea in their opening Premier League match against Swansea City on Saturday, but he doesn't think the striker's ongoing injury problems are reason to purchase another back-up.
The Portuguese also said that it's worth accommodating Costa's ongoing hamstring problems because the Spanish striker does the work of "one and a half" forwards when he plays.
Costa missed last week's Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and, speaking before Chelsea trained at the later time of 5:30 p.m. in preparation for the weekend's evening kickoff, Mourinho said he is waiting to assess the player's condition.
"I think he's going to train with the team," Mourinho said. "His reaction after that and his decision to be confident to play is another story.
"I have [Loic] Remy and [Radamel] Falcao. I go with Remy and Falcao like I did in other matches [if Costa isn't fit], like I did last season so many times with Remy and Drogba. But obviously he's a top striker. Not just for the goals he scores, but the football he produces.
"I cannot say I don't need him, but I don't like to speak about injured players. After matches when things go wrong the last thing I do is to remember.
"We brought Falcao because we know that we need three, we need protection to this situation. Three is the perfect number and we have three."
When it was joked that Costa's injuries mean he only has two and a half strikers, Mourinho shot back: "The half, when he plays, is one and a half, so compensates, because he's a fantastic player.
"There is nobody to blame and that is very important. I can't blame the player, because the player works hard."
Mourinho meanwhile said he is not concerned by Chelsea's failure to win a single 90-minute game in preseason.
"No problem about four or five matches without a victory in 90 minutes," he said. "If you ask me if I want to play better, defend better, score more, yes I want to do that.
"The fact we are going to have four weeks only with one match per week has the negative side of it, but the positive side of it is that you can have complete weeks to prepare properly.
"We have more than a week to work. No problem."