Chelsea striker Costa could face Man United, claims coy Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed striker Diego Costa could be fit to play at Manchester United on Sunday.

The Portuguese coach has bemoaned the absence of the £32million forward, who has scored nine goals in seven Premier League games despite a persistent hamstring problem.

The 26-year-old missed meetings with Crystal Palace and Maribor and spent a night in hospital earlier this week with a severe stomach bug following his return from international duty with Spain.

But Mourinho has suggested he could climb out of his sick bed to feature at Old Trafford.

"Diego has a little chance," said the Blues boss.

"I'm not saying he can [play]. I'm saying that we are trying. We will see what happens between Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

"Everything happened to him. He was obviously injured and he had to go to the hospital with a viral situation that we didn't manage to resolve without being in hospital over one night."

Costa's recovery from his niggling hamstring problem was delayed by the bout of illness, as he was barred from Chelsea's Surrey training base.

"The problem is that being ill obviously didn't help his recovery process because we didn't want him here at Cobham," Mourinho added.

"The medical staff were going to meet him at his house."

Now Mourinho confirmed he had returned to training on his own.

Loic Remy is out of the Manchester United match after sustaining a groin injury in Chelsea's 6-0 Champions League defeat of Maribor on Tuesday night.

Mourinho added: "The only one that I can confirm has no chance is Remy. I would say two weeks, three weeks [out]."