Eto’o offers Chelsea hope of return

• Posted on April 7, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Samuel Eto’o has offered Chelsea hope that he might yet be available for Tuesday’s return leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris St Germain after the Cameroon striker played a part in training at Cobham on the eve of the fixture.

The veteran striker, who turned 33 last month, has been absent from the first-team since suffering a hamstring strain during the 6-0 victory over Arsenal on 22 March. Eto’o had hoped to play a part at Parc des Princes last week but was not deemed fit enough to travel but, having sat out Saturday’s comfortable 3-0 win over Stoke, he ventured out on to the training pitch on Monday morning, joking with Fernando Torres and John Mikel Obi as he walked with his team-mates from the main building and out on to the turf.

Eto’o undertook his own stretching routine, working with the assistant first-team coach Rui Faria, while José Mourinho’s squad conducted their warm-up with the fact the striker was not able to play a full part from the start an indication of the serious doubts still surrounding his participation against the French.

But the reality that he felt able to feature at all represents progress, with Mourinho and his fitness staff now to monitor his fitness before deciding whether or not to start the game with the Cameroonian.

His potential availability would represent a huge boost to Chelsea as they attempt to claw back a 3-1 deficit from the first leg. Eto’o has scored 11 goals this season, all at Stamford Bridge, and is the most prolific of the club’s three available strikers. The last of his goals had opened the scoring early on against Arsenal. Indeed, he has registered in each of his last three appearances having also been on the scoresheet against Tottenham Hotspur and Galatasaray.

If Eto’o is not deemed to be ready for the second leg, Mourinho is likely to select Torres – who was dropped for the first game, with Andre Schurrle preferred as a makeshift No9 – ahead of Demba Ba for the role.

Chelsea’s options are limited against PSG, with Ramires suspended following his third booking of the competition at Parc des Princes. Both Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah, who trained with the squad this morning, are ineligible with Marco van Ginkel, who has featured for three times for the under-21s since recovering from knee ligament damage suffered in a League Cup tie at Swindon last autumn, a possibility for the substitutes’ bench alongside the likes of Nathan Ake and Tomas Kalas.

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