Joe Cole has told Jose Mourinho that he will be ready to make his first-team return by the time they face Valencia in the Champions League next month.
Cole has been out for most of the season with a stress fracture of the foot and underwent surgery in a bid to cure the problem.
Mourinho was resigned to losing the England midfielder for the rest of the season but Cole now looks set to time his return perfectly as Chelsea face the Spanish side in the last eight of the Champions League. Mourinho said: 'Joe Cole told me that he will be ready for Valencia. The fact that he is saying that will push him. So if not for Valencia maybe for the next week after that. Now he has a target and for me that is good.
'Joe was a key player last season . It was the best season of his life and he was crucial from the first moment to the last. He had an unbelievable season. This season he has had five minutes here and there, and finally surgery and out for a long time.'
Meanwhile the club were not commenting on suggestions that contract talks with captain John Terry have stalled even though Mourinho said on Friday that Chelsea would do all they could to keep both the defender and his England colleague Frank Lampard. Chelsea will look to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup against Spurs today - knowing that it will only add to their growing fixture pile-up.
If Chelsea or Manchester United reach the last four, then their Premiership game scheduled for April 15 will be moved to the last week of the season.
But Mourinho took his mind off today's clash with Spurs with his usual Friday kick-about with son Jose and his schoolmates at home. The Chelsea coach revealed that he winds down every Friday by playing football in his back garden with stones for goalposts and Jose junior demanding to play against his dad.
While Spurs counterpart Martin Jol tours London art galleries looking at Dutch art, Mourinho takes his mind off the pressure with a carefree knockabout.
Mourinho explained: 'I don't know Martin but maybe he has older kids than I have. When they are older they like to spend more time with boyfriends and girlfriends than their parents. My time for that hasn't arrived yet. They are 10 and eight - they still want to spend time with me and my wife.
'For example, every Friday, every boy from my kid's class, goes to my house. There are not many, there are only seven. They go to my house and we have a game. I play too. My son does not want to play with me, he wants to be on the other side.
'It is four against four and it lasts until they are tired and go back to their playstations. My wife takes them to my house when school finishes and when the game is over around five or six pm, their families pick them up.
'On Mondays after school they have an extra activity and they choose football. I go to watch on Mondays and on Fridays they come to my house. I play for a draw. I want them all to be happy. It is fantastic.'
Cole has been out for most of the season with a stress fracture of the foot and underwent surgery in a bid to cure the problem.
Mourinho was resigned to losing the England midfielder for the rest of the season but Cole now looks set to time his return perfectly as Chelsea face the Spanish side in the last eight of the Champions League. Mourinho said: 'Joe Cole told me that he will be ready for Valencia. The fact that he is saying that will push him. So if not for Valencia maybe for the next week after that. Now he has a target and for me that is good.
'Joe was a key player last season . It was the best season of his life and he was crucial from the first moment to the last. He had an unbelievable season. This season he has had five minutes here and there, and finally surgery and out for a long time.'
Meanwhile the club were not commenting on suggestions that contract talks with captain John Terry have stalled even though Mourinho said on Friday that Chelsea would do all they could to keep both the defender and his England colleague Frank Lampard. Chelsea will look to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup against Spurs today - knowing that it will only add to their growing fixture pile-up.
If Chelsea or Manchester United reach the last four, then their Premiership game scheduled for April 15 will be moved to the last week of the season.
But Mourinho took his mind off today's clash with Spurs with his usual Friday kick-about with son Jose and his schoolmates at home. The Chelsea coach revealed that he winds down every Friday by playing football in his back garden with stones for goalposts and Jose junior demanding to play against his dad.
While Spurs counterpart Martin Jol tours London art galleries looking at Dutch art, Mourinho takes his mind off the pressure with a carefree knockabout.
Mourinho explained: 'I don't know Martin but maybe he has older kids than I have. When they are older they like to spend more time with boyfriends and girlfriends than their parents. My time for that hasn't arrived yet. They are 10 and eight - they still want to spend time with me and my wife.
'For example, every Friday, every boy from my kid's class, goes to my house. There are not many, there are only seven. They go to my house and we have a game. I play too. My son does not want to play with me, he wants to be on the other side.
'It is four against four and it lasts until they are tired and go back to their playstations. My wife takes them to my house when school finishes and when the game is over around five or six pm, their families pick them up.
'On Mondays after school they have an extra activity and they choose football. I go to watch on Mondays and on Fridays they come to my house. I play for a draw. I want them all to be happy. It is fantastic.'
1 comment:
Greetings,
I would like to speak with you about publishing some of your future articles on football.
All the best,
michelle@sportingo.com
Post a Comment