Eden Hazard could return from injury
'sooner rather than later' as Chelsea
continue their push for the Barclays
Premier League title.
The Belgian star missed Sunday's 1-0 win
at Swansea after limping out of Chelsea's
midweek Champions League quarter-final
victory over Paris St Germain.
Manager Jose Mourinho made five
changes for the trip to south Wales,
where his team triumphed through
Demba Ba's second-half strike which
keeps them two points behind league
leaders Liverpool .
"Every player is fit at this stage, with the
exception of Eden, who should be sooner
rather than later. It is still a little bit too
early to say for sure," Chelsea assistant
first-team coach Steve Holland said.
"Having a clear week this week is a big
advantage.
"I can't stress enough the extra demand
that the Champions League brings with
those fixtures in the week. It is just what
the doctor ordered to give the players a
bit of a break this week."
Chelsea are next in action when the
Premier League's bottom club Sunderland
visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
And the Blues know there can realistically
be no slip-ups between now and the end
of the season - including when they visit
Liverpool on April 27 - if they are to land
a fourth Premier League title in 10
seasons.
Liverpool's thrilling 3-2 victory over
Manchester City on Sunday was played
out as Chelsea prepared for their fixture
at the Liberty Stadium.
"No matter how much you try to hide it
and take the players' minds away from it,
in this world of technology that we live in
there is always a way of someone finding
out at some point," added Holland.
"We were aware as the afternoon
progressed from when we had the team
meeting to when we left for the stadium,
then when we were in the dressing room
and out on the pitch, that the scenario
was changing all the time.
"Obviously, it was a good day for
Liverpool, and it looks like being an
exciting conclusion to the season.
"We have probably got to win all of our
games, one way or another.
"That's the likelihood, but we have been
facing that task now for a good couple of
weeks, certainly on the back of our result
at Crystal Palace. I think any leeway we
had was eliminated after that result."
Swansea's target over their final four
league games is all about securing top-
flight survival.
They visit Newcastle next Saturday,
standing only three points above the
relegation zone. The Swans have won just
two out of 10 league games since Garry
Monk assumed head coach responsibility
more than two months ago.
"We are not in a good position, clearly,"
Monk said.
"We're not secure and we have four
games left. It's not a situation we want to
be in.
"The difference is we are not chasing
anything, we are not looking to scramble
six or seven points to get out of it.
"We have it in our own hands, but we
have to do something quickly and get
points on the board in our next game.
The players are aware of it, but it's a case
of making sure we do it.
"Two wins should make it secure, but we
can only think about winning the next
game.
"I said to the players that we've had it a
few times where we have shown the
desire and attitude to not be beaten and
try to push on and win the game, but
unfortunately come away with nothing.
"But I've told them if they do exactly
what they did there (against Chelsea) for
the last four games, we will have no
problems."
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