Football
Kevin Palmer 10y

Mourinho may use Eto'o against PSG

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hinted that he "may risk" starting with striker Samuel Eto’o in his side’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

Eto’o was not fit enough to make a cameo appearance in Saturday’s 3-0 Premier League win against Stoke, but did take part in training on Monday, as he continues to make a recovery from the hamstring injury he picked up against Arsenal last month.

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And with Fernando Torres left out of the Chelsea line-up for the first leg of the tie in Paris last week, it is clear that Mourinho would be pleased to welcome Eto’o as he hopes to overturn a 3-1 first leg lead for PSG.

“Maybe I will pick him,” stated Mourinho, when quizzed about Eto’o’s possible return against PSG. “To risk a player you need to have minimum conditions. If you think he's going to be out after 10 minutes of the game you can't take that risk.

#INSERT type:image caption: Though still recovering from a hamstring injury, Samuel Eto'o may start against PSG.END#

“If there is a minimum of conditions of risk, then, yes, I will pick him. We need to score goals. If we don’t score a minimum of two goals, we are out. We know that. If we can have everybody available who can give us a chance to score goals, then let’s do that.

“I wanted Eto’o to be on the bench on Saturday [against Stoke] and play 15 or 20 minutes but he was not fit enough. He did not train with the team on Sunday, so we have to see.”

Mourinho went on to predict the Champions League clash against PSG in London will be ‘special’, as he insisted the tension normally associated with such a high profile game will be lacking on this occasion.

“Losing 3-1 there means I am not nervous,” he added. “I want to enjoy the game, I want to enjoy the fight, I want to enjoy the risk. I want to enjoy that.

“So, no, no nerves. We have to enjoy the 90 minutes. After the 90 minutes, maybe the 120 minutes, if we lose, we don’t enjoy it, but the 90 minutes, you enjoy.”

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