Tuesday, 9 September 2014

Diego Costa set to be fit to face the Swans

Brazilian/Spanish forward likely to recover from hamstring twinge in time to feature



I can't lie, I had just about everything crossed that Costa wouldn't be fit to feature this weekend. Being completely honest I didn't know too much about him prior to his arrival in the Premiership, but having watched Chelsea's games so far I can truthfully say the guy appears to be an absolute beast, and one who can finish better than I'd imagined. 

So far he's got four goals in three games (making him the Premier League's top scorer), and Chelsea seem a much more potent attacking proposition than I'd have imagined given Mourinho's track record of grinding out wins. We'll do very well to rebuff their attacks, while a clean sheet would be an achievement of massive proportions. 

The Guardian have reported (link) that Costa could well be fit enough to feature this weekend, though there is obviously still a decision to be made regarding whether the forward has recovered sufficiently to make the team. One thing I'd mention is that even though Costa is being reported as fit, there's clearly something up with his hamstring. It's been iffy for a while and it's not an injury that just goes away without rest, so I hope for Costa's sake he's not risking a potentially more severe injury because he wants to make an impression early on in the Premier League. If that is the case surely he's already done that, and can afford to take some time out to recover properly?

Perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part, though with Didier Drogba waiting in the wings it's not like they're bringing in a chump who significantly weakens the team. That does raise the interesting possibility of a shoot-out between Ivory Coast's current and future main men (Drogba & Bony), though whether either feature is debatable given their ACON exploits this international break.

However Chelsea line up, any kind of result at Stamford Bridge would be massive. I can't help but feel though that without Costa we'd stand a much better chance of stifling their attack, and with confidence high in the Swans camp if we score first who knows what may happen.