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The Times

August 15, 2007

Mourinho breathes easily as injuries begin to clear
Tom Dart

Chelsea’s injury anxieties may dissipate as quickly as they emerged. After the events of last season, it seemed improbable that José Mourinho could talk optimistically about injuries on the eve of a trip to Reading, but the Chelsea manager said yesterday that John Terry will resume full training today after his knee trouble, while Claude Makelele and Andriy Shevchenko have already done so and are available for selection for the match against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Mourinho seemed worried only about Michael Ballack, whose ankle problem will keep him on the sidelines for at least another week, and Wayne Bridge, who will be missing until October because of a hip injury.

Michael Essien, who scored the winner against Birmingham City on Sunday before damaging a knee, has a 50-50 chance of playing at the Madejski Stadium, where Petr Cech suffered a traumatic and controversial head injury last October. “I have to make a decision about Essien,” Mourinho said. “Maybe yes, maybe no. Paulo [Ferreira] is back. I hope to have everyone back for Liverpool.”

As he officially unveiled Alex, Chelsea’s latest signing, Mourinho’s thoughts centred not on the paucity of his resources but the plethora. “There is no reason to be shaky like we were last season,” he said. “We have a squad with good balance, strong in every position.” To make the point, he listed most of his players with relish.

Chelsea have four centre backs: Alex, Terry, Tal Ben Haim and Ricardo Carvalho. “Last season I was scared every time a central defender was having a tough challenge. Not now. When all of them are ready I can breathe normally,” Mourinho said.

He might be hyperventilating with excitement if Daniel Alves is signed from Seville to provide a world-class option at right back. A move appears likely because the Spanish club left him out of tonight’s Champions League tie against AEK Athens, so he will not be cup-tied if Chelsea beat Real Madrid to his signature.

“Maybe one of the reasons why we lost the championship last year was because we did not have enough defenders,” Mourinho said. “We lost [Robert] Huth and [William] Gallas in preseason, we did all season with Terry and Carvalho and a bit of [Khalid] Boulahrouz but . . . We had no other solutions.”

Alex was signed from PSV Eindhoven, where he was “parked” for three years while Chelsea waited for him to mature into a player good enough for their squad. He also had to obtain a work permit, which he finally did after a bizarre incident last month where he became so fed up with being quizzed at Heathrow by immigration officials trying to establish his employment status that he flew back to Brazil.

There is more in store for the 25-year-old because Mourinho said that Alex, who has eight Brazil caps, will not be fit enough to challenge for a starting berth for several weeks. Instead of joining up with the team in Berkshire this afternoon, he will be put through his paces in an individual session at the club’s training ground.

“He just started training a couple of days ago but he’s training hard, twice a day,” Mourinho said.

Alex arrives with a reputation for being physical. “He dominates in the air and has the physique to adapt to the English way of playing,” Mourinho said. “He plays in the most famous national team and the yellow shirt is very heavy. If he can cope with that, he can play for Chelsea.”

Teams

Tonight 8pm

Marcus Hahnemann, who excelled against Manchester United on Sunday, keeps his place in goal for Reading despite not fully recovering from a broken hand.

Reading (possible, 4-4-2): M Hahnemann - G Murty, M Duberry, I Ingimarsson, N Shorey - J Oster, J Harper, B Gunnarsson, S Hunt – S Long, K Doyle. Injuries and suspensions: L Lita (leg), G Little (Achilles), A Brown (ankle), I Sonko (cruciate), D Kitson (first of three).

Chelsea (possible, 4-4-2): P Cech - G Johnson, R Carvalho, T Ben Haim, A Cole - S Wright-Phillips, J Obi Mikel, F Lampard, F Malouda - S Kalou, D Drogba. Injuries and suspensions: W Bridge (hip), M Ballack (ankle), A Robben (knee). Referee: M Dean.