Chelsea’s striker Fernando Torres will be sidelined “for a few weeks” with a knee ligament injury, manager Jose Mourinho has revealed.
The Spaniard, who came on in the 79th minute for hat-trick hero Samuel Eto’O, suffered the injury in the closing stages of Sunday’s 3-1 win over Manchester united at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho feels the faithful development means Senegalese striker Demba Ba now has the opportunity to fight for a first-team start.
“It’s time for Demba. It’s a pity because Torres is in a good moment,” said Mourinho.
“Demba had a fantastic week, it was very difficult for me to leave him out of selection because he worked very, very well.
“The next matches are for Demba or Samuel.”
Chelsea have home games against Stoke in the FA Cup and West Ham in the Premier League before a trip to Manchester City, a home game against Newcastle then a visit to West Brom in the next month.
