Mourinho confident over swift Torres recovery

 

The striker is set for a scan on his knee after limping out of Chelsea's 4-0 win over Steaua Burcharest, but the former Real Madrid boss expects a return in two weeks

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has played down the severity of Fernando Torres' knee injury following Tuesday's 4-0 Champions League win over Steaua Bucharest.

The striker had to be withdrawn after just 11 minutes with suspected damage to his knee ligaments, but Mourinho is confident Torres - who is set for a scan on the area on Wednesday - will make a far swifter recovery than Marco van Ginkel, who was recently ruled out of action for six months due to a knee problem.

"The bad news is the injury," Mourinho told reporters. "It's a pity for the guy because, physically, he was in a very good moment.

"He played fantastically against Tottenham and deserved to start this game. So it's a pity but that's football.

"The doctor is very confident it is not a big injury like we had with Marco van Ginkel but it's something with his knee, his ligaments and we have to wait for the scans.

"Fernando knows that he doesn't play against Norwich on Sunday and will not go to join the Spanish national team."

Mourinho added that he was hoping Torres - who is banned for the visit of Norwich City this weekend after picking up two yellow cards against Spurs - would return against Cardiff City in just over two weeks' time.

"He knows that he has 15 days until the next match he can play, against Cardiff," the Portuguese said.

"If the injury is for 15 days I think he'll be fine."