Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior has been speaking to the media before Friday’s FA Cup fourth round game against Hull City at The MKM Stadium (19:45 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
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Rosenior said it is “too early to know” the extent of the problem that forced Marc Cucurella off at half-time of Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against Leeds but he is “definitely out” against Hull and the club are “doing our scans and assessment”.
Captain Reece James has had his training “modified”, “is still under the weather” and “we will make a decision tomorrow”.
Rosenior confirmed Mamadou Sarr will feature against the Tigers after being recalled from a loan at Strasbourg in January: “Mamadou has a great chance to start the game. It’s very difficult to but he’s been here before and he knows me really well and my demands. He needs time to bed in but now I think he’s in a really good place and will definitely see the pitch at some point on Friday.”
Reflecting on only taking a point against Leeds despite leading 2-0, Rosenior said: “Balanced view – 99% of the game was what I want to see, in terms of with and without the ball, defending set-plays, energy, courage. It was very, very good. It was just those moments, of switching off, where we need to improve.”
Would Chelsea not have conceded twice in six minutes with Wesley Fofana on the pitch: “You can over-analyse. It didn’t matter who was on the pitch at that moment – we should have dealt with that situation. 99% of that performance was really good. With Wes, he has had those injury issues and I don’t want him to break down again. You want consistency in your backline and we will get there in the end.”
Asked when will Fofana be fit to start three times in a week, Rosenior said: “For the first time he did midweek to weekend. That’s a really positive sign. The aim for every player is to build them to a point to where they can play every game. We are not quite there yet. But I am confident we can get him there.”
On returning to the club he both played for and managed: “For me, Hull City is very special. My grandma was a season ticket-holder. I’ve got my family coming up. The club means a lot to me for many reasons. Hopefully we can put on a really good show. I want to do well in this competition. I don’t see it any different to a Premier League or Champions League game. We will go there with a team I think can win the game. We will take it seriously.”
Watch Hull v Chelsea live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, or listen to commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds from 19:45 on Friday
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[BBC]
